Tag: relationships

Cloudy with a chance of grumbling

I have been working around the Hubby’s work schedule this week. His schedule is anything but Monday – Friday, 8 – 5, so I can blame him for this week’s delay.  That comment alone fits into today’s post.

I knew there was a problem when my second cup of coffee hadn’t fixed my gloomy attitude this morning.  Every word the Hub’s spoke, even the stares from the dogs seemed to have negative, underlying connotations. I retreated into my office to work on a sewing project only to have my sewing machine turn on me.  Yes, the clouds of gloom and doom had descended upon me overnight.

storm clouds photo-1465440567949-6062e3a8459f

Ninety-eight percent of the time I have a positive outlook on life and will steamroller my sunny self through any fireballs life throws at me.  One percent of the time I’m Mrs. Chicken Little.  The remaining one percent…you don’t even want to know what that looks like.  The last eruption resulted in a flying glass of chocolate milk.  Luckily those only happen every half decade or so.

So, today I have observed myself dealing with a split personality. Mrs. C.L. being chided for her gloom by Ms. Sunny Cheerleader.  Sunny keeps talking about all the things I have to be grateful for, what a lovely day it is, how much I have accomplished this week, yada, yada, yada.

Sunny would probably have won today if Mrs. C.L. had not had company.  It seems Impatience and Insecurity slithered in sometime last night. Sunny doesn’t have enough weight on her side of the seesaw to balance out the other three combined.

What the heck brought this on?  I have been making a list of possible culprits.

  1.  Not a great night’s sleep. Or several nights of tossing and turning. CHECK
  2.  Missing my kids.  Even though I have talked to both this week, I have a limit on how long I can comfortably go without actually seeing their faces in person.  CHECK
  3.  Disappointment in myself.  Goals not met in the allotted time even though I am making progress.  CHECK
  4.  Interpersonal relationships that I’m not sure of.  That ugly Insecurity whispers things that I have no real evidence of, but they still worm their way into my soul. CHECK
  5.  Not looking after myself like I should.  Exercise has fallen off the radar and I have a serious lack of wine/book/manicure time.  CHECK
  6.  A lack of nature therapy.  This week’s nature time has only been accompanied by a weedeater. CHECK

Is your gloom and doom list similar to mine? Have you ever taken the time to break it down and think about what has you waiting for the sky to fall? Usually I don’t. I just grump about making everyone run for cover.  Why did I bother today?  I’m not sure unless it’s the fact that I do have a new husband who just might ask me what the heck is wrong with me and I needed an answer.  My kids and the dogs never asked…or were afraid to. Hubby has never seen that OTHER 1%, but the kids have warned him!

Wishing you a sun shiney week and I should be back next week in a better mood.

Photo by Jamie Kern

 

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Quirks

Harmon ParkIt is finally here. Spring and the official start to the floor tiling extravaganza. I know, you have been hearing me talk about it for months now. There may have been a little avoidance/procrastination going on coupled with some unexpected family commitments to delay the process. If all goes well this weekend I will post a photo or two to prove I actually did stick tile to floor.

This past week has consisted of more Spring cleaning than creative endeavors. Yard work last weekend while we had some decent weather then digging things out of storage to be donated to a couple of fundraising yard sales in April as well as a big town recycling event. Time to get rid of the ancient VHS players and old cell phones.

Last Sunday we had a conversation in church that has amused me all week. Who knew that a coffee pot could  cause so much division?

coffee yin yang

Have you ever thought about your personal little pet peeves and quirks? How did you acquire them? I think many of them are passed down through our families. You know, the “that’s the way it’s always been done” effect. Some are in reaction against the way it was done in our families. My sister and I will never wash dishes the way our Mom does because we had to do it her way growing up.

The same quirks you thought were charming in someone when you were dating will drive you to the brink of insanity after a couple of years of marriage. Wars may very well have started over quirks.

Our quirks are part of what makes us each unique beings. As hard as it is sometimes, we really should appreciate and celebrate the quirks in each other. Why does the way someone carries their money in their purse make someone else crazy? Or how towels get folded? That’s one of mine. I fold towels a certain way and that’s the way I want them done. Yep, much of it comes down to control issues. Does it really matter how the towels are folded if they are put up in a cabinet and very few people actually see them? It does to me!

How do you handle someone else’s quirks? How do other people handle yours? Can you find a way to appreciate them or at least compromise before World War Three breaks out?

I have claimed responsibility for my towel folding obsession and just do it myself rather than subjecting family members to “my way.” The same goes for the dishwasher. Have you noticed that the dishwasher is a HUGE issue? It is now understood at my house that my rearranging the dishes is not a statement of anyone else’s inadequacy, but just a hang up of mine. Well, that and the fact that my way is better!

So what was the subject of the church discussion?  One of “my kind” sinned by taking a cup of coffee from the pot that had not yet finished the brewing process. This set off a protest by D’s “kind” that the “sinner” had now effectively ruined the pot of coffee for everyone else! It was soon determined that the class was almost evenly split between the two coffee obsessed factions. It was left to the non-coffee drinkers to mediate. We consider them “heathens”, but for continued peace, love and understanding with our Christian brothers and sisters we practiced forgiveness and grace.

May your week be filled with understanding and grace for others and yourself. Happy Spring and Happy Easter!

 

Harmon Park photo by Christel Williams

Coffee photo credit

 

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