Ya Gotta Learn to Love the Grind
“Difficult roads often lead to beautiful destinations.”
Hello Wits End. Can’t say that it’s nice to meet you. We were bound to run into one another sooner or later. Not sure why I can’t give chaos the shake—we’re way too close these days. This week he came in the form of a teenage car crash, my dog Ringo chewing up the Google fiber cable not once, but twice. (Who needs the internet anyway?) The washer broke. I have five kids, and no washer. That’s enough to make a grown woman cry uncontrollably. Let me tell you, late-night laudromatting is a thrill a minute. Wash. Rinse. Repeat. I feel like Bill Murray in Groundhog Day. Only 12,403 days left to go to beat Murray’s dizzying record of being trapped in a day. That’s nothin’, right?
Not to mention, I have complete strangers badgering me for college-essay help. And monotonous grant deadlines. Oh and a CNP telling me to get more sleep or I’ll never find balance, or worse fatigue will wreak havoc on my adrenals. Funny, I haven’t even thought about my adrenals, but I am now. Obviously, I haven’t started reading The Gratitude Diaries. Tomorrow I’ll kick chaos and deadlines to the curb to have a little turkey, watch some professional football, rest, and read. I’ll be making a Christmas mix for me and Rae too. Life will feel a little mellower and a little sweeter. In a quiet moment, I’ll remind myself not to sweat the small stuff. And it’s all small stuff.
Which reminds me…if chaos is your shadow too these days, you may want to check out Richard Carlson’s Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff…and it’s all small stuff. It made publishing history as the #1 best-selling book in the U.S. for two consecutive years. Wisdom on a page is hard to resist. I’m not a worrier, especially over the stuff I can’t control—I do, however, appreciate reminders—perspective savers. If you haven’t developed a taste for the mundane, this book will teach you to do as my father repeatedly suggests: ya gotta learn to love the grind. I’m not there yet, but I have taken things in stride all week. And I have an awful lot to be thankful for, including all of you.