Not So Bad...

Today I came home from work and threw my things on my bed. I stomped into the kitchen and made lots of noise getting my macaroni and cheese and sat down with a humph in the living room. After dinner I waltzed back into the kitchen, fixed a heaping serving of ice-cream, and proceeded to take it with me as I sank into a hot, well-deserving bubble bath. After consuming the ice-cream I began to text a handful of friends talking about frustrated I was about this and that. Would you assume from those few sentences that I had a terrible, no good, very bad day? It wasn't until I was beyond pruned and wrinkly that I had this beautiful lightbulb moment...

It wasn't a bad day.

Today I aced an exam, got really good test results at a doctor's appointment, had lunch and coffee with a friend, had a successful meeting with someone, and gave away ice-cream sandwiches to my kids for having such an awesome week last week. What's bad about that? Nothing! Those things are great!! But, I chose for the longest time to focus on the negatives.

The exam was at 8am.
The doctor's appointment took a long time..
Traffic was insane.
I stubbed my toe.
I ran out of time to accomplish what I wanted to accomplish today.
I forgot something really important at work earlier.
My phone is acting up.
Blah. Blah, Blah.

If you look at the little picture, today was the equivalent to a large, smelly diaper on a hot summer day. If you look at the big picture: it wasn't so bad. There were some bad moments, but it wasn't a bad day. That's funny isn't it? I came home in such a funk over such a day, and I complained about it to everyone. Everyone. (Sorry to those who deserve so much more than an apology over my rants and tears.) At no point did I stop and tell someone a positive about this day.

Perspective is an important aspect of life. I wish I took the time more often to sit back and be thankful for the things I do have rather than spend precious time and energy on all of the tiny, meaningless things that are completely irrelevant.