Yesterday someone in the service industry called me at 9:30 in the morning and in the course of making polite conversation said “Did I wake you up?”  I was insulted, but I decided not to let him know as I was sure he didn’t mean to be insulting.

I have been an early riser all my life.  It goes back to the days when I would jump out of bed at 4:30 am to be able to work two horses, shower, change and drive 30 km before starting work at 7:25 am.  I have long held the belief that it is better to work horses in the fresh cool of the morning.  I still much prefer a morning ride to an evening one. 

Nowadays my alarm is set to a more stately 5:30 am, and I regularly beat the bell.  It gives me an hour of peace to read my e-mails, update Equestrian.com.my and catch up with my Facebook friends.  I drop Zack at school and am in my office by 7:30 am.  I wish I had more time to ride but life has been hectic recently and I have even missed riding on weekends.

So when someone pleasantly asks if he has woken me up at 9:30 am it is a bit of an insult.  Reminder to self, ensure my own staff don’t make potentially insulting comments, even if they mean well.