Terrible, Horrible, No Good, and Very Bad... And The Sequel That Should Have Been Written

Did you ever read that book?

"The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day" was a 70's classic. Now my grey hair is showing...

Have you ever had one of those days when you just wanted a giant "REWIND" button? One of those days when even getting back into bed probably wouldn't go well?

Well... we had ourselves one of those days this week.

But right smack dab in the middle of my complaining, I got myself a reality check. As my hip, cool, and happenin' child would say, I got "served." (Where does he GET this stuff?)

It went something like this...

I...

1. overslept

2. had an early morning shouting match with a 10 year old

3. ran late to drop off pouty 10 year old at school

4. realized that feeling like I had my act together was NOT gonna happen

5. received a phone call from school (from pouty 10 year old)... telling me he'd left his ENTIRE binder on the kitchen table

6. pulled into garage, jumped out of car, grabbed binder, and took it back to school

7. ran late to meet my friend to go to Bible study

8. picked up an even pout-ier 10 year old who informed me that his day had "stunk"

9. came home to a pile of dirt from the plant that the cat turned over

10. met a hermit crab on the stairs... apparently making his break because the cat had turned his cage over too

11. had a long talk with the cat

12. made dinner, cleaned up dinner, checked homework, and got the pouty 10 year old ready for bed EARLY...

13. watched a very disappointing American Idol... even the auditions weren't funny

14. realized that the back of the remote control for the bedroom TV is missing

15. got up out of my warm bed to re-check the locks on the doors downstairs (because there happens to be a nice little criminal invading homes in our area)

Now... it really wasn't that bad of a day. And in light of the tragedy in Haiti and the daily realities of war... none of my petty things are worth even mentioning.

You see... Somewhere in the middle of the day, I found out that a very dear friend of ours was involved in a combat situation. A situation where someone was killed. A situation where several others who were there will never be the same. A situation that our friend will probably replay over and over in his mind and in his dreams. A situation that could have ended his life. A situation that just as easily could have been my husband. Or my neighbor's husband. Or my other friends' husbands.

It was a "wake-up-and-stop-feeling-sorry-for-yourself" moment. I have to confess...

I don't like those moments. At all. I especially didn't like that one.

I know that the "wake-up" moments aren't always that dramatic. Sometimes they're small, and sometimes they're even funny.

I'm starting to believe that the real (honest) drama in life keeps us grounded... so we don't focus on the little petty and insignificant things that we love to focus on.

And the little small things that we think are gonna drive us crazy actually keep our minds off (for a moment) the really big things... the reality of life and it's frailty. Because if that were all we thought about... Let's just say that the small things keep us sane.

In know, I know. It's all about balance.

Finding the right place in your mind where you can be thoughtful and grateful and aware of the precious gift we all have been given.

And then deal with the little stinky things that happen on a day-to-day basis.

The sequel to that book should have been called:

"The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day And The Lesson I Learned From It"

Do you really think anyone would have read it? Checked it out from the dusty school library?

It's one of those sequels you have to write on your own, I think.