Not gonna lie. I’ve had a tough run these last few weeks. Bad days. Many bad days. Don’t get me wrong, there have been good days too. I’ve even made a lot of the changes I set out to make, lots of progress, uphill climbing and all that. We had some great times as a family and with friends as well.
But here’s the thing. I’m human. The people around me are human. The world is chock full of humans. And as a race, we humans have a tendency to make mistakes, to trip up, to get nasty, and then to get sad, mad or simply lie on the floor and never want to lift our heads up again, preferring to let anyone and anything walk all over us. At least we don’t have to make any kind of effort to do that.
This is how I’ve felt many many times recently.
When one thing goes right, another will inevitably go wrong, or at least that’s what the wise Mr. Murphy says. Alanis Morisette says it well in her song, “Ironic.” Life has a funny way of helping you out.
But, I have to keep reminding myself that it’s just a bad day, not a bad life. Things have been tough, but not “shunned because I am a female and can’t get an education” tough. Not “I can’t afford groceries or birthday gifts for my kids” tough. Not “I have an incurable disease, or have lost my home and possessions in a fire” type of tough, or the millions of other kinds of tough that are so extreme that I literally can’t believe they’re real.
It’s the type of tough that I can handle, because guess what? I’m tough too. I can still wake up every morning, look my life straight in the eye, and say, “You’re mine! No matter what you hurl at me, I can take it and still come out on top.” It might take a while and it might not be easy or exactly the way I’d like, but hey, it’s challenging and the thrill of overcoming the obstacles gives me fresh strength for the next round.
I’ve just got to keep remember that even if there’s nothing I can do about it, and if can still get through it, it’s not really that bad. Doubly so if there is something I can do about it! It might feel pretty bad THAT DAY, but if it won’t matter to me next week or in 6 months, then why let it get me down today?
After all, there are so many beautiful things in my life that I wouldn’t want to miss out on enjoying them because of a few setbacks or tough days, however gloomy and doomy they may seem at the time.
So, you had a bad day, but here’s to a beautiful life!
Breathing to life 
Great post, honey! You encouraged me, too. I know there are a lot of humans who suffer with “struggling.” I thought that was a good description. Life is almost always a struggle, no matter what is going on. We get tired of the struggle or lose hope. It’s easy to fall down that rabbit hole. I do, often. Then I have to try real hard and remember there are a lot of other folk in a lot worse of a situation. Not to make myself feel better but to snap me back to reality that maybe I should be a helpful human being in some way and get back on my feet. Love you to pieces.
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Thank you! I didn’t know if I expressed what I was feeling that well. I’m glad I encouraged you, and I totally agree with what you’re saying too. Love you too! XO
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PS – I think you should record yourself singing that song and post that, at least an excerpt. You have such a good voice.
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Maybe one day! Not sure how much of my actual voice I want to put in this blog, lol. Maybe just for you!
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Aww, just for me would be great
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Great post Ange … And very relatable!
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Thanks, Anne! Miss you something fierce!
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Thanks for posting this. We all have those bad days. Many in fact! It’s part of life and made more difficult when u don’t get a break from it. Aka the job of motherhood that never ends. I can definitely relate. I think it’s so important to have other things in life to look forward to that are beyond where your responsibilities lie. I know it’s extra difficult as a mom with many little people’s needs pulling you in multiple directions, but if u are able to carve out time away, it sure makes a difference. Hang in there. I know you’re doing your best to serve your family and one day they will appreciate all of it. If u every have a free few hours, come on by and visit or we could plan a mommy’s day out sometime soon. I sure need it 🙂
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Thanks, Katrina. YES! Mommy’s day out! Yippee! You’re totally right about needing a “mommy hobby!” I actually was going to write something about that. I guess mine would be blogging and photography. You too, maybe?
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Perspective makes all the difference. Thanks for sharing! Well expressed, Friend!
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Exactly. The Glad Game! LOL. We hated that game as kids! But it’s quite useful now 😀
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Thanks, Maria. I guess it’s a pretty relatable subject more most, you know, humans! LOL
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Whatca great post! I’ve also had quite a few of bad das recently, stream of bad luck that made me want to stay in bed and go out anywhere. But, I made myself going and then told myself ‘that’s it. No more being grumpy and miserable’ and my lifevis beatiful again. It’s amazing how the way we think can change how we feel. Perspective is everything.
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This is really good, Ang; such a lovely natural style of writing you have!
I think there’s some self-discipline needed in training ourselves to think before reacting to situations good or bad, but especially the potentially difficult ones. (I speak as one who is not very disciplined at all unfortunately). It reminds me of that bit in Galatians where he talks about “moderation”, better translated as self-control or self-discipline, being an outgrowing of a Spirit-filled life. I always wondered why that should be there but am coming to realise that taking control of our attitudes and reactions and making them work for us makes it much harder for “bad days” to knock us down.
Now off to get some practise in since I’m not at all good at this!
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Hi, Paul! I genuinely appreciate you taking your time to read and reflect on what I’ve written. It means a lot! And you’re right–so many of those quotations and sayings that we’ve heard our whole lives begin to make more sense as we grow and gain experiences.
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I love your writing style – it’s so natural and easy on the mind’s eye!
This reminds me a bit of the bit in Galatians about how temperance (better translated nowadays as self-control) is an outgrowing of a Spirit-filled life. I struggle with self-discipline myself but when you CAN make yourself think before reacting, especially to apparently bad, annoying or otherwise irritating circumstances, you become master of the situation instead of a victim. I must learn to do this more consistently! I suppose it’s like any other thing you do deliberately and frequently, after a while your actions become reflex actions and you start to become more the you you want to be. But it’s a fair bit of effort for some of us and a rather slow process. Some people are much better at it and good for them!
And…hopefully some better days are on the way!
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Thanks for the compliment. I never really considered myself a writer; more like a deep thinker, hahaha. Thanks for taking your time to comment and give me such awesome feedback!
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Very nice, we can all relate. So good to be aware of these thoughts and feelings, suppressing these realities is much worse. Makes me think I need to start writing in my journal again. Hope the sun is shining on you today.
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Journaling is so therapeutic! I guess my blog is a little like my journal–kind of?
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So sorry to hear about all of you adventures! Though it was also encouraging that we’re not the only family that has weeks like this! 🙂
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Thanks, Ariane! Whenever I look at other people’s lives from the outside, it always seems like everyone has it all figured out and I’m still stumbling along! Oh well, glad I can be an encouragement to someone!
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