These days are finding me running from one thing to the next. I've come to rely on The Never-ending To-Do list, mainly because e.v.e.r.y.thing I can think of TO do must go on the list lest I forget; bathing and breathing included.
Most important are the parent-y things reserved for the ma-Ma. Like doctor's visits. Yesterday, sports physicals for my boys topped my list since soccer is just around the corner.
Because they have a $25 deal, a local walk-in clinic is our destination when it's time for a school physical. Yesterday was no different. We walked in at 3:20.
We walked out at 5:30.
Their actual face time with the doc was about 20 minutes. The rest of the time we were treated to waiting room public broadcasting–it's been a long time since Arthur taught me a lesson and I'll be durned if the scholarly aardvark hasn't found the Fountain of Youth!
It's not hard to imagine all three of us were approximating spontaneous combustion, which might explain why one of my sons burst into uncontrollable laughter when the doctor asked him to cough. That's one response, I suppose.
Typically this type of thing undoes me. I'll fume til my fire fizzles to embers, which serves no one and doesn't even make me feel better.
But the truth of my "right now"?
I DO NOT HAVE TIME TO SIT IN A DOCTOR'S OFFICE FOR ALMOST 2 1/2 HOURS!
But yesterday something was different. Maybe it was because after I shared my , I received a few notes from readers whose TAVBDs aren't days, but weeks or months or worse! They were SO NICE about it, too, feeling my pain while sharing their {much more terrible awful} own, and I was flat over myself.
For goodness sakes, I get to off and on for the next year on the company's dime (sorta). My problems? Minor, sometimes emotional, inconvenience. That's about it.
The ridiculous wait at the doctor's office, while rude and inconvenient, wasn't life or death and my errands will get done eventually. And if they don't get done it won't be the end of the world.
On my post-doctor, rainy drive to T.J. Maxx to buy a suitcase for our trip, I had an ephiphany:
Getting mad about something in the past
is an absolute waste of time.
Now, I'm sure, being the savvy person you are, you already know this. But do you really believe this? Because believing this, owning it, changes everything for the better.
I can't change the past; it's neutral. The past is indifferent towards my present and cares not for my future. If I make the choice to dwell on the past, it can rob me of present and future joy and contentment.
I decided right then and right there ~ in the middle of the T.J. Maxx parking lot ~ that I wasn't going to allow the aggravating past three hours to steal any more energy or time.
And then I bought a really big, purple, lightweight trolley and asked the lady at check out, "Wouldn't it be funny if I had hidden a friend in it, and when you unzipped it to make sure I wasn't shoplifting, she jumped out?" and cock-eyed she hurried to complete my transaction. I might be mistaken but I think she was in a hurry to get rid of me.
Anyways…
At my epiphanous moment, Disney's Lion King came to mind. Ahhh, the sage wisdom of Rafiki, Timon and Pumba.
Enjoy, again, especially if it's been a while–
You make me smile.
When I was a working mom and my husband was the stay at home dad, I had to learn to let go of certain things like packing for a trip. My mantra became, if we don’t pack it and we need it, there is always a Wal-Mart or CVS or something(I think in Germany you get Aldi).
Learning that simple lesson lightened my heart and the weight on my shoulders. Suddenly lots of other things didn’t seem so life or death. Dinner not ready at 6? Are we doing to starve? Nope. Kid only got one lesson done in school today? Will it cause him to flunk out of education completely? Nope. Kitchen is dirty and clothes stinky? Sure, let’s go play outside together, because there is still sunshine and dishes can be cleaned inside.
I hope you get to see those 2 1/2 hours as time you spent with your sons. Not ideal surroundings, but God put you there to be still and wait, while enjoying your kids. Who weren’t there for life and death… just soccer physicals.
P.S. I really hope you like Germany. I know I did.