I Am Known To Look On The Bright Side

The last year or so, specifically the last three months, have been a bit unlucky for us. It seems we've been at the mercy of some god who has either too much time on his hands or a serious hate-on for my family.

To name just a few of the unfortunate incidents we have my husband's small business pretty much collapsing on itself, twice; several cases of pneumonia; a nasty bout of pinkeye that made it's way through our house; some um... tiny little bugs that like to breed in your hair; and last, but not least, prepping this monstrous house to put on the market because we like to be able to afford to eat and then having a well meaning in law paint some walls the wrong colour two days before list it.

There. That's a gorgeous run-on sentence of misery, isn't it?

I try to be a glass-half-full kind of gal, so I'm not willing to let this string of insanely bad luck get me down.

How can I be so cheery about all this?

Easy.

It's all in the justification.

I give myself way more leeway when it feels like the world is asking me to bend over.  I let myself get away with a lot of things I wouldn't when things seem to be going well.  I encourage you to try this too. It really does help you deal.  Want some examples?

• Drink more.  It helps. I really mean this. Ever find yourself staring at a wall painted three different shades on a Monday night?  Sure you have. Reward yourself. Have a beer. Have six.
• Go to your local department store wearing jogging pants. I have a strict "no jogging pants in stores" rule, but that's for good times.  Treat yourself. For good measure, throw in dirty hair too.
• Snap at people more. Seriously. Witness how freeing it is to snap at the teenagers in front of you in line at Tim Horton's. Tell them to pull up their damn pants!  Cut their hair! And for Pete's sake, stop saying "random" out of context!
• On a diet? So am I. I'm training for a major adventure race, but will one Snickers bar at 1:00am hurt? No.  It's 1:00 on a Thursday and you're awake. Eat it.
• Say no. I know, I know, you're a "say yes" kind of girl. You volunteer, you carpool and you work too much. You're known for it.  The next time someone starts with "There's the girl I'm looking for!" don't just say no, threaten to cut them if they continue.

Now, I know you're wondering if I've completely lost it and the answer might just be yes. It's temporary though. I'll get back to myself quite soon.  I just wanted to give you a few hints for the next time you're going through a period of time when only a chocolate bar at 1:00am will do.

Original post to Canada Moms Blog. Chantal justifies this and a lot of other stuff at Bread Crumbs In The Butter