Saturday, July 16, 2011

Freight Trained

I felt compelled to write this post because of the downright, no good, patience-tapping week that I've had.


Case in point: Wednesday, while I was in the shower, mischievous little Myla Bean got her hands on some butter and SMEARED it into the couch. I took a deep breath, grabbed the steam cleaner, cleaned up the greasy mess and went on to make lunch for the kids. Within 20 minutes all three kids had struck simultaneously. When I came back into the room, Myla had grabbed her brother's PB&J from the table and mashed it into the couch, right where I just cleaned. At the same time, the boys had torn apart the front room and the kitchen, spilling the milk, spreading jam on the table, and leaving the last of the Apple Jacks all over the floor.  In that same moment, the vacuum wouldn't work, and the water heater decided it needed some personal time off. All three my kids almost all went up for adoption that second, and it was only noon.


Believe it or not, the whole week shot straight downhill from there, leaving my head spinning on it's only slightly attached axis. Despite my best efforts to keep everything together, it all fell apart anyway, and by Friday morning I was in tears and feeling about this big... give or take an inch.  


But then something happened. Friday afternoon, I did something good for myself. I made myself a protein shake, turned up some music and danced around the house like a moron. To complete the picture, I belted out off-key notes, serenading my children with my lack of talent. They thought it was great and it was just what I needed to unwind, re coop, and pull myself back together. Do you know what I realized? No matter what, I wasn't going to let anything stop me, not even butter on the couch. Nothing is going to claim me, because it's never as bad as it seems.


I reflected on the past week, and all those who had approached me about one thing or another, and I realized they or the people they were venting about probably had just as rough a week as I had. I was forced to recognize that I did the very best I could this week, and considering the obstacles I had, I made it through relatively unscathed, which was pretty impressive if I do say so myself.


One of my favorite quotes came from a dear friend of mine, Wendy. I'm bolding it so that it sticks in your memory like it sticks in mine.

"No matter how bad you think the day is--if you are looking down at the grass and not up at the roots, everything else is okay." ~A.U.

So, if you had a bad week as well, guess what? Today is Saturday. Do something good for yourself! You deserve it! Make that protein shake, turn up the music that makes you say, "You know what? Forget this week! It's done, and next week promises to be just as exciting! Bring it on!" And join me in dancing like the village idiot, because what else have we got to loose? Next  week is going come whether we like it or not, and chances are it's bringing a U-Haul of baggage.

"We're fools whether we dance or not, so we might as well dance." ~Japanese Proverb