So You Had a Bad Day...

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Anyone else had that kind of day?

You know, the kind where you forget its picture day until morning and all the kids’ clothes are being washed, and you mix-up the lunch plans you made, and run around all day wondering where the time is going since nothing is getting done?  Where you try and make an easy cinnamon-biscuit dish for breakfast, but since your mother-in-law doesn’t have a Bundt pan, you substitute an angel food cake pan with (surprise!) a removable insert, and while it bakes, a river of sticky sugar-glue seeps out the pan’s crevice and floods her state-of-the-art convection oven and the smell of burnt maple syrup fills the house and trips the smoke alarm (while everyone else is still asleep)? 

A day where you wake up with a strange, itchy rash on your face and cold sores on your nose (!!!) even though this has never, ever, ever happened before in your entire life, and then the power struggle with your toddler begins before the sun is even up?  And then you bicker with your husband in the grocery store while you have to wait two hours for prescriptions to be filled, and then you have another encounter with the same oven when you burn the macaroons because you set the timer for twelve hours instead of twelve minutes, and somehow also drastically miscalculate payday and now you’re left wondering how in the world you are ever going to afford to eat during the trip you’re traveling across the country for in 31 hours for 5 days with $50 to spare after hotel costs?

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Aaaaaaaaaaaand when you are in severe pain because your fibromyalgia is flaring and your head is pounding because your contacts are six weeks overdue for replacement.  When you try and fix something broken on your blog and wind up wasting hours trying to figure it all out and make the problem worse, then argue with your oldest son and give up on your youngest son halfway through bath time because there is poop on the floor and you just don't have a bathroom-floor-mopping and a hair-washing left in your soul tonight, even though it’s not even 7:30 p.m. yet, and only one of those can wait until tomorrow?


Those kind of days?

Yeah.  Me too.

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I am hiding in my bedroom now, taking a breath, whispering a prayer to wash away this wretchedness.  Perhaps God is reminding me of all I will enjoy a break from this coming week, in Pennsylvania, even though I will be longing for it while I'm away.  But I am ready, tonight, to slip between blankets and shake off the day in peaceful darkness and be grateful for comfort and the promise of much wonderfulness later this week. 

What better way to combat the blues than gratitude, friends?  Counting blessings just now, even without numbers, along with Ann.

-          Leaving for Relevant in 2 days.  Can’t believe it.

-          A day off work.

-          A bit of daydreaming, today.

-          New employment, and resources to pull from in our tight times of late.

-          Twitter, and the bursts of joy it brings me throughout the day from brothers and sisters full of encouragement and humor.     

-          A husband that loves to cook (good for a girl that loves to eat, yes?).

-          A movie, to put me in the mood for Pennsylvania.

-          A work schedule I love.

-          A workload challenging enough to keep me focused but easy enough that I’m not stressed out.

-          Being back at our home church, and the sermons that leave me lingering on truth all week long, marinating and tenderizing.

-          The overwhelming joy at being home that has not yet faded.

-          A ‘welcome home’ banner that still hangs across the front porch, though we’ve been here a month now.

-          A neighbor friend for my children, just across the street, new to the area, also.

-          The hope that we’ll have our own place soon, and the fun of imagining homemaking possibilities. 

-          Beef Wellington that turned out fantastic, and the time and ability to try a dozen new recipes in the last week or so.

-          Having been able to ‘steal away’ twice this month so far for writing dates to work on my manuscript.

-          NaNoWriMo, starting Tuesday.

-          You, and your comments and input that have blessed me significantly this week.

-          The truth, in this:

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Amen, and amen.

Multitudes of sweet blessings your way tonight, friend.