And then...
Last night, just as my son's JV football game was about to begin, a car on a nearby freeway hit the rails and flipped several times. A woman and three kids were injured (my firefighter hubby helped on scene, and says they'll be ok). Then during the second quarter of the Varsity game, a player from the opposing team had to be carried off the field on a stretcher. Those people had a bad day. For real.
On Thursday, without even knowing about my car problem, my 15-year-old son had posted this on Facebook:
"Sit down, relax, close your eyes, and just thank God for keeping you alive and healthy in a free country with a roof over your head, no matter what you're going through."
Yes. He wrote that. So even though I didn't feel prepared to blog today, and even if this post might be riddled with poor grammar and sentence structure, I thought I'd share that with you.
If you're having a rough day, I hope my son's words of wisdom help you as much as they helped me.
Have you ever thought you were having a bad day and then, bam!, you realized your day wasn't so bad after all? Please share!
photo credit
If we're having a bad day, it means we're alive.
ReplyDeleteYour son is incredibly wise for his age. I don't think you'll have to worry about him, mom.
Thanks, Alex. You know, we cheer our kids on and help them through struggles, and it's awe-inspiring when they turn the tables.
DeleteI remind myself quite often that there are folks who have it a lot worse than I do. It keeps things in perspective when I remind myself I am more fortunate than a vast majority.
ReplyDeleteMarcy, sometimes when we're in the thick of it, it's hard to remember that. But I think you're a lot like me...in time, we do remember.
DeleteI was just thinking, "Where's Julie's Saturday post?" Because I've been up since 5 AM (released my book yesterday and I'm too wound up to sleep lol), and my blog feed has been ticking away without you. :-)
ReplyDeleteWhat perspective your son has! (Reading the post, I'd say he gets that from his momma. ;-)
I've been fretting all week, and have had to come to terms with a similar reckoning, Julie: There are WAY more important things in this world than whether or not someone likes a story I've written.
I've been really nervous about this day (yesterday, actually), because I haven't really included my family and friends in my writing life up until now. Don't get me wrong, I love all readers, but family and friends are the people I'll lose sleep over if they think I suck at something. Most of them knew this is what I've been toiling away at, but I've not really let them in, and honestly it was because I just wasn't ready to.
Anyway, perspective is a beautiful thing. From where I stand this morning (after the outpouring of support given to me yesterday from people I've literally known since birth), that mountain seems a fairly minor hill and I wonder how I could've possibly taken so long to climb it.
Another story, and much more to your point ...
Several weeks back, my brother's little girls (7 and 5) lost their best friend in a horribly random/tragic event. (A runaway vehicle hit their family, and several other bystanders, while they were going into Target to shop for school clothes. The little girl was the only one killed.) It's been such a hard time for my nieces, and my brother's family (you can't have something like that happen to people close to you, with children the same age as your own, and not put yourself in their place.) I still can't write about it without becoming emotional, and I never met the little girl or family...
Anyway, I think I've said a short prayer of thanks every single night since then for all that I have. It's so easy to nitpick the things missing from our lives--like working cars lol--and there's certainly no shame in grousing about life's annoyances. But most of us have soooo much love and companionship in our lives, and that's all that really makes getting out of bed important. The rest is just stuff we fill our lives with, the people (the love) ARE our lives.
E.J., I'm so happy for you with your book, and I'm so happy the closest people in your life now have the joy of reading your stories. You are indeed blessed.
DeleteYour story about the little girl broke my heart and brought tears to my eyes. Just out shopping for school clothes. We do those mundane things all the time, and whoever thinks something like that will happen? What a tragedy.
any time I feel like I'm having a bad day, I just have look a little bit farther around me and then I'm always thankful!
ReplyDeleteWow! How awesome was that? Thanks for sharing, Julie. I hope you have a better weekend. *hugs*
ReplyDelete-Jimmy
Wow. So impressed with your son! :)
ReplyDeleteWe have a couple of people in our close family circle dealing with serious health related issues. Whenever I feel like my day sucks, I think of them, their powerful, positive attitudes & everything slips right back into perspective.
I've had my share of what I thought were bad days. All I had to do was turn on the news to be reminded that there were others in the world going through much tougher things than I was going through.
ReplyDeleteYour son is awesome. What a wonderful thing for him to post to Facebook.
I know bad days are part of our journey, but that doesn't make them desirable. I'm blessed with friends like you that can always turn my bad days around.
ReplyDeleteI have indeed. Your son sounds wise beyond his words. :)
ReplyDeleteYour son is very wise, Julie. And, yes, I've had those days, especially if it's car trouble. :(
ReplyDeleteJulie, what a profound message. You have raised an incredible son with so much wisdom. And then you've paid it forward to the rest of us. I will use this often, not only for myself, but for others. Thank you so much!
ReplyDeleteAnd tomorrow will be better.
A wonderful reminder Julie. Thank your son for me! :-D
ReplyDeleteYour son is most wise. I've had it rough for the last 5 years. Sometimes I think I just can't hold on any longer. Then I realize, as bad as things sometimes feel, I still have my health, my family & their health, a home, food to eat, and friends who support me. And while I may not have money like I used to, what I do have adds up to a whole lot more. So I count myself lucky every day of my life.
ReplyDeleteI had a bad day yesterday, but today I realize how much worse it could've been. Thanks for the enlightenment.
ReplyDeleteI've been trying to be more thankful lately, but it seemed like the more I tried, the harder it became. Things kept going WRONG! I was in the car driving my daughter to gymnastics and feeling so bummed out. I kept thinking, "God, what do I have to be thankful for? I bet I'm going to get pulled over for speeding because we're late for gymnastics!" Well, in the anti-climactic nature of melodramatic moments, we didn't get pulled over and a song came on the radio that actually helped me to focus on Someone higher than myself for a moment, and it totally changed my outlook. :) When I got home, I remember how someone said the other day that every breath we take is a blessing, every heartbeat. It's so true! I don't know why it's so easy to get bogged down and discouraged, but I do want to continue to give thanks!
ReplyDeleteI hope hope hope your mommy-mobile gets fixed soon. UGH! But I love what your son says. We all do have a lot to be thankful for!
A wise son you have, Julie!
ReplyDeleteWell, our garage door broke yesterday... silver lining is our two car garage has seperate doors. So hopefully the price for repairing one will be cheaper. Good logic, right? But I'm thinking probably not.
Hope your ride is fixed soon!
I love it when moments like those outshine the rest of a crappy day. They make a world of difference.
ReplyDeleteIt seems as if you've done a lot of things very right, Julie! Great son and husband for sure and great attitude. I'm keeping this in mind the next time my day goes south on me. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteoh! What a great, cool thing for your son to write to you! Guess what? If all else fails that's a Mommy WIN! :o) <3
ReplyDeleteAhhhh, sometimes are kids have it all straight -- they get that from us, right? ;)
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