Day 49: Silver Linings

Nothing quite like cracking open the laptop to write to you to remember all the tiny tasks I was supposed to do today.

It’s election day in Virginia and the kids have been off school since 12 pm on Friday. I love the long weekends with them but it definitely adds a bit of chaos.

Having a screw in my tire and driving 3 hours round-trip to get our 1 month old tire patched also added to the chaos.

Whenever things like that happen it always reminds me of the following quote from Jen Sincero:

"When we're forced to do something, suddenly the time is there. Which means it's there all the time, but we've just chosen to limit ourselves by believing that it isn't".

If you haven’t read Jen Sincero’s “You Are A Badass” yet, you need to! (Paperback LINK, Kindle LINK) I’ve gifted that book to many a badass I know who need the reminder every once in a while.

She shares a couple of examples of things that happen that are unexpected and how we sometimes deal with them. It covers being the victim of circumstances. Procrastinating. Avoidance. You know, all the stuff we do to prevent ourselves from taking action.

Life is funny like that right?

You can live and die by the planner hoping to hold onto some modicum of control but then… your kid gets sick, you have a nail in your tire, a family member has to move in with you, etc.

Don’t get me wrong, planning is always a great idea. It’s learning how to handle distractions and disappointments that will make or break your peace in life.

For me, I used the tire situation as a bonding opportunity with the kid. He drove and talked. I listened and looked at the beautiful trees. Had this not happened, I’m not sure I would have fully been present to see how gorgeous Virginia is right now. Btw: I highly recommend being a passenger princess to look at foliage.

There is always a silver lining. Sometimes you just have to look for it.