SOME WEEKS

Do you ever have one of those weeks where one thing after another goes wrong? Complaining doesn't feel justified because there have also been plenty of good things and the hard things aren't scandalous or life-changing. But, still, what in the world? That was last week.

Motherhood was ... ummm ... well, let's just say that I won't be writing a parenting book soon. Or ever. I had a few physical things going on that were frustrating. I didn't get nearly the amount of homeschooling work accomplished that I intended to and have pretty much lost most of my motivation to do any at all. 

Facebook made an unannounced change that suddenly and unexpectedly rendered all posting services useless on event pages, meaning my Pampered Chef party posts that go up automatically during the day while I take care of the rest of life, allowing me to pop into parties at my convenience, had to all be posted manually. Even during times where I'm intentionally offline.

The kids and I missed a junction that wasn't clearly marked on a hike, which cut our planned distance in half. I was running late for a haircut, which meant the kids all had to come with me immediately after the hike. We got home at 3:45, exhausted from a non-stop day and hungry because we hadn't anticipated being gone so long and hadn't brought adequate food. Plus I had tons of work to do because of the posting service situation and being away from the computer long. Our house was a mess. My dinner plan fell through.

Why were we running late, even though our hike was only half the distance we planned? Because of this. Four siblings relaxing and laughing together in the sunshine. Picturesque, right? Just having so much fun we lost track of time.

Or maybe it was that a big farm truck came barreling down the center of the road after our hike and I had to choose between getting hit head-on or sliding into a ditch, so the little Ws opted to wait on the opposite side of the road instead of sitting at an angle indefinitely.

Yep, it was that. And then it was waiting around to spend some quality time with the man of my dreams. You can see us together here, me getting my first sunburn of the year and him rescuing a damsel in distress. 

The good news is ...

The same kids who I feel so weary of parenting at times are the same ones who can be a joy to be around. I'm not parenting alone. None of my physical complaints are life-threatening. In fact, they're not even serious in any way. Schooling choices of every kind have ups to balance the downs. I've had the ability to manually post in my virtual Pampered Chef parties for the short-term while I decide what to do for the long-term. Both of last week's parties were fun.

We have the freedom to go on a hike in the sun in the middle of a school day. My phone had a signal in a somewhat rural area, which allowed me to call our insurance company to get towed out of the ditch. The tow truck driver responds to calls in the order he gets them, which meant when he got four calls in a row, he came to us first. We have insurance that paid for the tow.

The haircut I thought I'd have to cancel was still able to happen and I enjoyed catching up with my hairdresser. Tim was on a subbing schedule the day of the ditch adventure, so he beat us home by a few minutes. He took over the role of man of my dreams when he asked how he could help, then whipped together stir fry and a pot of rice when I asked if he could figure out something for dinner while I dealt with party stuff and tried not to cry.

Two things.

First, remember that there are proverbial vehicles in ditches across from smiling kids. People don't always tell you about them, but that doesn't mean they don't exist. Maybe you only see the smiling kids because the stuck vehicle in their life is something that isn't up for public consumption. Maybe it doesn't have to be kept private, but they're choosing to focus on the good things instead of the hard ones. Either way, there's often (I'm tempted to say always) more hard things going on in a person's life than one smiling picture or pleasant conversation indicates. No one's life is all sunshine and roses.

Second, remember that every rotten day has something good in it. I realize my week wasn't absolutely horrible, but it's still easy to get bogged down by the relatively trivial things that are inconvenient or frustrating. Whether you're dealing with a barrage of minor problems like I was, or huge things, which I've also faced, make a point to look for the positive things that are also going on. They're always there.