Even on a Bad Day

There are days when it feels like I'm out of step with the rhythm of the world... like everyone else knows something I don't know, and I'm the odd woman out.

On days like these, it would be so easy to slide down into If Only Land:

If only my kiddos would stop yelling...

If only the grocery store would have stocked the one thing I came in here to get...

If only I would have noticed that my car needed gas, before I parked it at home, the day before I had a to-do list a mile long...

If only I hadn't missed that call...

If only I had remembered to say...

If only they hadn't...

If only...

If only.

Then I remember- when I got married, all I had to do was choose the guy and plan the event. There was no one deciding if I could get married. There was no one deciding who I could marry. I remember that I got to choose my home, my place in this world. I remember that I can go to the grocery store any time I want, pick out what I need, pay for it, and go home. I remember that, when I welcomed my firstborn into this world, I rejoiced over the fact that she was a girl... and so did everyone else in my family. I remember that I can go to bed every night and relax without worrying what will happen in the middle of the night... will we be safe? Yes. Will we have something to eat in the morning? Yes. Will the hubs have a job to go to the next day? Yep... that is, if he chooses to.

It is so easy to get caught up in the day-to-day complications of this life, but if we stop for just one minute and break everything down to the bare essentials, we have to admit to ourselves: we don't have it that bad. In fact, we have it pretty darn good, even on a bad day.