well, today *could* have really, really sucked...

yeah, today could have been better on some levels... but it's nothing a smile and a giant bag of salt & vinegar chips can't fix...

tonight, i filled asher's dad (aka, ed) in on what the principal (mrs h) had told me this morning. at first he laughed (because yes, it is kinda funny...), but when i reminded him that asher accused someone of abusing him because he's mad at her and doesn't like her... he stopped laughing, and said he'd talk to him tonight. (i was working, so he had the kids this evening.) 

and i spoke with asher at bedtime...

i had told ed that the whole thing was a "secret" because asher didn't want to hurt anyone's feelings. so he and i each told asher that mrs j (the EA in question) had been sobbing in mrs h's office when she found out what he'd said.

when asher heard this, he became very sad.

so ed took the kids out tonight to pick up a gift for asher to give mrs j's baby (friday is the last day before her mat leave).

and when asher said his prayers tonight, he prayed, "dear God, thank-You for this lovely with me, mrs e, mrs b, mrs g (his EA, ECE and teacher), and please help me to cheer up mrs j."

tomorrow morning, i'm taking asher in to school, and he's going to apologize to mrs j for saying all this about her.

and we both told him that if he ever pulls this crap again, he's going to be in a ton of s*** trouble. (neither of us used those crossed out words... well, i know i tried not to. and i doubt ed did, either... but i know i was definitely thinking them. haha)

and let's see, what else happened today...

well... my rear tire blew on my way to work. literally, 15 feet from the parking lot. nice.

and then, in the middle of trying to give a customer her parcel, my system shut down. there was a message on the screen about a system error... and it just... shut down. and of course this is when everyone in st thomas decides to pick up their parcels. haha. well, it actually wasn't funny at the time. my system was down for at least 15 minutes. i still don't know what happened... but it would reboot, then shut down. then reboot. then shut down. i'm not kidding... this happened four times. and the line-up getting longer and longer.

sigh...

ok, yes, there was more that happened today, but i won't go into details... because my point, gentle readers, is this:

sure, you can't control what happens sometimes. you just can't.

but

you can control how you respond to it.

i'll admit, at one point this evening, i just wanted to cry when i thought about asher and the EA, and my truck, and a couple other things. and then...

a customer arrived, so i smiled and helped them out...

and suddenly, i didn't want to cry anymore.

yes, i was still thinking about everything that happened today. and yes, it's a lot of stress smooshed into one day. but...

i spent this evening reminding myself to breathe (i have a tendency to hold my breath when i'm stressed). and i smiled at my customers and joked with a few of them... and told my boss that i'll take any extra shifts she'd need me for over the next little while (thereby tackling two of the stressors at the same time)... 

and i remembered that i can't fix my tire when i'm working. and ed can talk to asher, and i'll take the littlest man to apologize to the EA tomorrow. and the computer (eventually) righted itself, and since ed and the kids would have to give me a ride after work, i'd get to see the kidley-winks tonight, and i don't have to pay for prescriptions so dr w can prescribe anything she wants on friday and i won't panic about the cost...

and i remembered to breathe...

and hold each situation in the Light...

no specific prayers. just holding them up. because i don't know how they should be resolved. i just want God to do whatever He's going to do, but keep us all alive in the meantime...

and you know... i got through tonight. and i'll get through tomorrow. and the next day. and the next.

it really is amazing what you can get through if you just breathe and have a little faith...