Day Five Is Born - 61 in Gestation

Today was one of those days that could have easily been a wash. It was a day of good intentions and dispiriting results. In all actuality, it was really just a regular day.

Today started entirely too early, when Shaggy the Cat decided he wanted out. Too ignorant to learn how to use the cat escape, he has instead developed his own escape method. When I am sleeping, and he wants me to let him out, he extends his claws from his front paw, and uses it to caress my cheek. So, at 5 am this morning, I got up to let his bony feline butt out.

After a nap on the couch, I looked out my window around 7:00 am and saw Lynnette's car. She had decided to do 8 miles today. I was inspired, but not willing, to put on my shoes and run after her. Part of me wanted to feel guilty since I have these eight goals, but I made the decision not to walk today.

Around 10:30, Molly, Lynnette, Sam, and I met at J Alexander's for brunch, which was not yet open. We opted for O'Charley's. There I had the omelet supreme, which I devoured, since I had skipped breakfast in preparation for brunch. Afterwards, we all shopped around Target.

What had begun as an early but promising morning, quickly turned into an afternoon of errors.

First I took my husband Steve's car to get a thorough cleaning. The vacuum guys had not done their job, and the car had to be taken through the vacuum department a second time.

My next stop was to Lowe's to return some items. Sunday afternoon must be the time for returns, because I was fourth in line behind two men with angry faces and a basket load of hardware. I decided that a $1.72 refund was not worth the wait.

I then proceeded to Walgreen's to pick up Steve's prescription, only to be told that there was no prescription, and if there were, I must have waited longer than a week to pick it up and it had probably been returned to the stock, but she really didn't know, because they didn't have any records. No amount of explaining on my part and questioning the clerk's computer skills resulted in a prescription.

I returned home, only to have my stomach start churning. From what, I don't know, but things started to feel ugly. I assembled my usual remedy of ginger ale and toast, and slowly started to return to normal. After a nap, I felt better and had a little dinner.

By this time it was time to pick up Steve from the airport. During the ride home, we had a spirited discussion about the Walgreen's debacle. Since I was tired, I was not a happy participant.

Why do I bring all this up? Because this is real life. This is not high drama, not huge disappointments or debacles, but the little things in life that can sway you into thinking that life sucks. None of these instances were life threatening or life altering disasters, but each one had the potential to chip away at my frame of mind. If I were to follow through with a defeated attitude, I would have become discouraged and depressed, and my goals would be in jeopardy.

So, what remained of today? Today I realized one way in which I know I have changed. I formerly thought of myself as a pessimist. I thought if I concentrated on the bad things that could happen, then I would be prepared for those bad things, and pleasantly surprised if good things happened. But I've realized that I no longer prefer to live that way. Sure, bad things happen. But I think my ability to enjoy this life depends on how I handle the difficulties that come up in life,whether the problems are large or small. I was not going to let these little annoyances that came up today dictate a ruin to my day.

Day Five didn't lend itself to any great strides toward achieving my goals. Day Five had the potential for picking at my confidence, but I didn't give in, and I strengthened my resolve to find the blessings in my daily life. Today I practiced letting those annoyances go and staying focused on the things that matter. Today the things that truly mattered were:

The car wash man who noticed the faulty vacuuming job. He's an hourly worker who wanted to do his job right today. I'm thankful that there are people out there who want to do a good job, and not just get by.

My family who gets together for brunch on Sundays, just to spend time together.

Ginger ale, for its ability to make my stomach feel better.

Today was just a regular day, in which things happened. It was my choice, not the things that happened, to decide what kind of day today was. At the end of today, I see the truly worthwhile parts, and I decide today was indeed a good day.