Image by twm1340 via FlickrSome days you open the milk in the fridge and it has gone bad but you don’t realize it until a big clump of pre-cottage cheese has fallen on the cereal.
Some days your youngest child comes in with a “Moe” haircut because he wanted to get the hair out of his eyes and couldn’t wait until Monday.
Some days you go to school to see that the unexpected air conditioner repairmen have trashed your room and that a full 1/3 of the computers are unplugged.
Some days you try to move the computers back with the help of the janitor and a monitor and table fall on your head while you’re back in the corner.
Some days something precious to you has been taken off your desk and you know it is one of 8 students – all of whom deny it.
Some days you turn off messaging when your child is with you overseas and the cell phone company messes up and starts charging you for every message your child sent when they returned and sends you a bill for over $1200.
Some day I’ll be happy…
No. I won’t be happy someday – I’ll be happy today.
Sure sometimes things fall on you like the monitor fell on my head yesterday morning.
Things happen. That is life.
At the end of yesterday (my someday in the story above) I came home, got in the bed and turned on my old time favorite, Little House on the Prairie, and Mary Ingall’s baby died in a fire that Albert inadvertently started when he was smoking in the basement of the blind school. (I found out this script for May We Make Them Proud went on to win several awards for Michael Landon, the author and actor who played Charles Ingalls.)
So, I sobbed. I cried as Mary was lost in insanity for a period as she denied the baby was dead and her husband went to New York to get away from her and Albert ran away. Life is so unfair. It all welled together into noiseless sobs (noiseless so my family wouldn’t know I was crying – that upsets them.)
But then, at the end, as usual, there was a very touching scene. Johnathan – Charles Ingalls’ best friend, whose wife had also died in the fire – said something like this to Albert Ingalls who had run away:
“We can’t bring them back, but the question is, are we going to live our lives in a way that will make them proud?”
I can’t undo the computer on my head – I CAN get the cell company to straighten out their billing mistake – I can buy new milk – My son’s “Moe” haircut will grow out – I can buy another of the thing stolen from me – but I can’t buy another day ruined by unhappiness of my own making.
These are the things of life.
Some days things just happen like this but we cannot wait for some day to be happy.
If we do – we’re never happy because something is wrong with every day – but you know what – something is RIGHT with every day too!
During the day, my baby sister Skyped me and called me as she was driving home to check on me – and she’s one of the busiest women I know. She loves me.
After school, I came home, and my oldest son gave up his Xbox game so I could watch 2 episodes of Lost. (That is a BIG deal.) He loves me.
My Mom called me to check on me too. She loves me.
I ended up yesterday flipping between a show about married people losing weight and American Idol sitting on the bed and laughing with my youngest son and daughter. My husband listened to me vent after we went to bed even though he was tired.
These people love me.
Today I will be happy and grateful for this day God has given me. Today is the someday I will be happy.
How about you?
Related articles
- Hey – I’m not messing up – I’m learning! (coolcatteacher.blogspot.com)
- Can’t we just “integrate it everywhere?” (coolcatteacher.blogspot.com)
- 5 Wonderful Ways to Be Weird (coolcatteacher.blogspot.com)
- 3 Things I Learned from Charles Ingalls… (modernwrinkle.wordpress.com)
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.
Never miss an episode
Get the 10-minute Teacher Show delivered to your inbox.
10 comments
Some days are like that. A friend told me that sometimes we have to put on our big girl panties and deal. Good luck.
My granny always said “sometimes you gotta let the rough end drag!” — bit of rough ends around here lately. Glad to see another person who has days like that.
Thank you. It was hard to write this this morning b/c I had a genuine desire to be crabby !! Just writing it helped me gain perspective!
Vicki Davis
Cool Cat Teacher Blog
Building the bridges of today that the society of tomorrow will walk across.
Sent from my iPod touch
Thank you so much for the blogs like this one that you write. I havemade it a habit to let the “bad” things that happen during the day roll off my back and to reflect on and be thankful for the good things. Your posts are always uplifting : )
Great (humorous)reminders that as teachers we learn to meet each day with a sense of adventure. Good or bad we need to because those who look to us to be an example rely on us to be human, connect on that level and show them how best to live through things. Wow – sorry about that monitor on your head though. That’s “adventure” beyond the call of duty! Thanks for the inspiration!
“A sense of adventure.” I love that attitude! Anticipate the adventure. ;-) Sometimes it is an adventure! Yesterday I was helping the seniors film their senior movie and helped skype someone in to prom – it was an adventure – but a good one!
I can SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO relate. I am one of the most positive people I know but sometimes, when faced with a day like this one, I can go to the dark side. I take the same approach that you do and it helps. Thanks for sharing. I admire everything you do. Love following from Texas!
Thanks, Jane. I feel guilty sometimes when I have the “pity parties” but yes, it does help to reflect!
I’m reading this post while sitting in the ICU of a major hospital with my niece. She was in a major car accident in December and remains in a coma. Thank you for some much needed inspiration.
Oh, Melanie. You need it!! I’m so sorry about your niece. If you want me to add her to my church’s prayer list – email me at my name at coolcatteacher dot com . How heartbreaking. You do need inspiration. A great devotional book I love is “Streams in the Desert” that would be one that you’d enjoy in this time. Best wishes.
Comments are closed.