Echoes of the Willow

Daily writing prompt

What is the best excuse you have heard lately?

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By Michelle Allen

The best excuse I’ve heard lately didn’t come from a child with cookie crumbs on their face or a stranger in line at the post office. It came from me — whispered into the early morning quiet, long before the rest of the house stirred.

It was 6:30 a.m., the alarm was doing its best impression of a persistent woodpecker, and I was lying there negotiating with consciousness like it was a stubborn landlord.

And out of nowhere, my brain offered this gem:

“I can’t get up yet. My spirit is still buffering.”

Not tired. Not lazy. Just… loading.

It made me laugh, even as I burrowed deeper under the blanket. Because honestly, that’s exactly what it felt like. My body had technically woken up — eyes open, feet somewhere in the vicinity of the floor — but the rest of me? The part that makes decisions, holds compassion, remembers passwords, and behaves like a functioning adult? She was still spinning like a little digital wheel.

We don’t talk enough about those mornings. The ones where your soul is lagging behind your schedule. The ones where you wake up physically present but spiritually absent. The ones where you need a moment — or several — before you can fully join the day.

We call it “slow to wake,” or “not a morning person,” or “I need coffee first.” But maybe the truth is simpler: sometimes the spirit needs a minute to boot up.

And maybe that’s okay.

Maybe the best excuse isn’t the one we give to other people — it’s the one we give ourselves. The gentle, honest kind. The kind that doesn’t shame or scold or demand immediate productivity. The kind that says:

“I’m not ready yet, and that’s allowed.”

Because here’s the thing: life is full of alarms. Literal ones, emotional ones, metaphorical ones. They go off constantly — reminding us of responsibilities, deadlines, expectations, and all the tiny tasks that make up a day.

But our inner world doesn’t always move at the same speed as our outer world.

Sometimes your spirit wakes up instantly, bright and eager. Sometimes it needs a warm drink and a quiet moment. And sometimes — let’s be honest — it’s still buffering at noon.

I think there’s something beautiful about acknowledging that. Something human. Something soft. Something that gives us permission to be exactly where we are instead of where we think we should be.

So if you find yourself staring at your morning, feeling like a half-loaded webpage, remember this: you’re not failing. You’re not behind. You’re not broken.

You’re buffering.

And maybe that’s the best excuse you’ll hear all week.

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