Lemons into Lemonade

Optimism requires practice (and sometimes patience) to maintain.  It is no less important to overall wellness than any other aspect of one's health.  While your anatomical muscles extend and contract to support the posture of your body, optimism is the mental muscle that shores up your psychological well being.  And, just as a muscle needs to be strengthened, toned, and utilized regularly, optimism needs to be frequently flexed for optimum results.

Which brings me to today.

Wednesday began like any other day...


6:00 a.m.   Molly Kittenclaws informs me that it is time for breakfast so I pajama shuffle, one eye closed, down the stairs to the kitchen. 


6:15 a.m.    Coffee in hand, first sip taken, I head back up the stairs for primping and preparation.


7:00 a.m.   I head to work. 


8:00 a.m.  Class begins, but I have prep this morning (yay!) so I commence with grading a million essays.  My pen runs out of ink.  I tell myself I really need to stop writing so much feedback on these papers, but then get a new pen and continue, business as usual.


10: 24 a.m.  I am interrupted by an administrator during second period.  It seems the school has received an anonymous bomb threat and will need to evacuate before lunch (the time of the supposed bombing).  No alarms are rung.  No one panics.  Law enforcement is on the scene and the staff is given instructions. Students are quietly escorted down the halls, to the sidewalk, and across the street.  An autodialer begins calling parents and a district representative prepares a statement. 


11: 00 a.m.  The campus is eerily empty.  It's the most efficient evacuation I've ever seen.

11:15 a.m.  The faculty is de-briefed and told to go home.  Bomb-sniffing dogs are brought in and law enforcement takes over.  Our school is closed for the rest of the day.


11: 30 a.m   I call my dearest friend to vent.  "What are you going to do with your free afternoon?" she asks.  I really have no idea.  The adrenalin hasn't worn off yet and I feel agitated.  I wasn't expecting a short day. I had stuff to do!  What about my agenda?  And those essays I have to finish?  I didn't even get to eat my lunch!


Hmmm...lunch.  A thought occurs to me.  I remember my own advice about practicing positivity and call up my sweetheart for a lunch date.  We rarely ever get to do this.  It might just be fun.


12:45 p.m.  The Big Guy and I share an ocean view and some margaritas while we wait for our lunch. 

Ahhhhhhh

2:00 p.m.   I normally wouldn't even be home yet.  The combination of my margarita and "coming down" from the earlier adrenalin rush hits me.  I'm sleepy.  Dare I entertain the notion? A nap on a Wednesday--is it possible?  Why yes, it is!  I crawl into bed and  drift off ...Lemons, lemonade...I think I'll blog about this later.


3:00 p.m.  I still wouldn't be home quite yet.  I run to the grocery store and get a few errands done.  I feel so...delighted.  It's been a most excellent afternoon.  An impossible afternoon. 


Only a few hours before I was fraught with worry. I was annoyed and anxious--my day was ruined.  But then my angel-of-a-friend asked me what I was going to do and I realized I had a choice.  


What I did was take a sour lemon of a Wednesday, an unfortunate and frustrating occurrence, and I squeezed the ever-loving pulp out of it.  The essays could wait.   My agenda could be accomplished some other time.  My day wasn't ruined--in fact, it was lovely.  I spent some time with the man I love, had a delicious lunch and an adult beverage, and took a much-needed nap.  I made the choice to sugar up those sour lemons and I flexed that optimism muscle until I made some damn fine lemonade. 


It isn't possible to be cheery all the time (believe me, I know), but seeing the glass half full more often than you see it half empty isn't a bad way to live life.  There will always be plenty of lemons to go around--but the lemonade? The lemonade is entirely up to us.


Until next time,