(Not So) Terrible Tuesday

As a child, my favorite book was/is "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very, Bad Day." I know I've said this before but it is worth repeating. I just love this book. Poor Alexander. The book begins, "I went to sleep with gum in my mouth and now there's gum in my hair and when I got out of bed this morning I tripped on the skateboard and by mistake I dropped my sweater in the sink while the water was running and I could tell it was going to be a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day."

I know we all have those days...In fact I just read that the book is being adapted into a film. Now THAT should be interesting...Either way, today was one of those days. I almost felt it when I woke up. Scratchy throat. Uh oh. That means a summer cold is a brewing. (Sidebar: I'm thinking I'm going to need to stock up on vitamins considering I'm sharing an air system with the entire building. Yuck). So why was today not a day to write home about? A 2.5 hour meeting this morning that left me feeling inadequate in my job. Discovering that my coworkers went ahead and bought season tickets to the Fox theatre for the upcoming season (including Shrek, 9 to 5, Next to Normal, Jersey Boys, and Billy Elliott...all shows I want to see) without me even though I expressed interest several times in getting tickets with them. Receiving yet another division polo shirt that's two sizes too big and cannot be traded in thus throwing it in the pile with the other ones I'll never wear because they're HUGE. Having to tell my students thrice to do the same thing when once should have sufficed. Choosing the wrong line in the grocery store behind the woman who kept changing her mind about what she wanted and obviously had absolutely nowhere to go.

And then, some reframing happened. A friend told me his parents called him late last night to say his grandfather was very ill and going to pass soon. That same friend telling me he just found out his uncle has terminal cancer. That same friend telling me about a fraternity brother of his who is a social worker struggling to care for a 15 year old with no family/support who just found out he is HIV+. There's bigger things out there folks. Bigger things than not getting tickets to the Fox. Bigger than getting a polo shirt I'll never fit into. Bigger than having to kill some extra time in the grocery store.

Made me realize I've been going about this day all wrong. I've been focusing on the bad instead of focusing on the blessings that I have a great job at a great school (I'm EMPLOYED), I can afford to buy food at the grocery, I can sit and type this blog post on the mac book I own, and I have a healthy family. I wonder if Alexander had a reframe or a new perspective if the book would be titled as such. Probably wouldn't have been as great a book then...Who knows...

Cheers.