Keep Watch for the Good Stuff

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Lots of energy around the house this week. First day of school for Sweet P, which means I also head back to the office to do some real work.

This is different from the end-of August approach I used. Then, when I said I had to work, I really meant I’ve got to escape to the home office and pretend like I’m on the phone so you people will leave me alone for one freakin second.

Except this week, I have an assignment due and I get to start talking about my book (so exciting) and I’m really ready to get back to it. And, I really do have to get to work. And get up early. And feed people, like regularly, and apparently discuss daily how long it should take a 4th grader to do her hair-and-you-just-do-not-understand-mom.

Truth. If you saw my hair you would know, I really Do Not understand.

What-If Turns Excitement to Anxiety

The night before all this fall routine (Read: chaos) began, Sweet P was doing a fair amount of what-iffing. What if no one sits by me on the bus? What if I don’t know how to do the math? What if my alarm doesn’t go off?

This started to turn the excitement she’d been feeling (mostly over the new high tops she gets to wear) into anxiety. Worry. Stress.

We do this right? We take a perfectly good situation – one that is a change-agent, one that we are even excited about — a new job, new relationship, new house, first day of school – and we screw it up by imagining the worst. Well, it could happen, we say in that little know-it-all mom voice we all have – It could happen.

But, come on, it usually doesn’t

And while the worst could happen, so could the BEST.

Look for the Best

Just like that, your alarm goes off right on time (NOTHING was going to get in the way of me getting this kid out the door and to school), you sit by a friend who was happy to see you on the bus (she did), and you might discover you know more than you realize in math class (surprise!).

Just like that you could love the new job, or be swept away by the kindnesses of your new boyfriend or find your new house is just what you always dreamed. Just like that the goodness can emerge. Because it’s always there too.

Here’s what I’m saying – Life is filled with situations. Some you may like, others not so much. You never know what’s going to show up when you spin the wheel by getting up each morning.

But, dang, stop right there and be grateful that you DID get up in the morning and then know that no matter what appears, YOU CAN HANDLE IT.

You can.

You have got this.

And, geez Louise, if you need to micro-manage the future and expect anything at all, Expect the Best. Because it’s more likely then, that you’ll notice when the good stuff shows up.

And it will show up. Even during the toughest times, the good stuff emerges. It’s like background music. Always there if we tune in.

Think about it, you were sick and a friend helped out with the kid. You went through a divorce, but became closer to your sister in the process and later, even found love again. Your bestie didn’t sit with you on the bus, and so you made a new friend who now shows up for you everyday.

That’s the stuff you can expect to happen. Keep watch for it, so you notice when it shows up.