Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

Remember this book? Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. I must have been in second or third grade when my teacher read it to us. It was a book I never gave a second thought. But I had a very trying week. I guess I could look up and turn it into gratitude while praying "Thank you God, for believing I needed these challenges this week!" Well I had a very trying week and I guess I could laugh at how much I REALLY am like Lucy!

Yesterday I had a VERY late start but believed I planned my day accordingly to still get all I needed to get done, done. I went to my car to leave at an appropriate time to get to work, which I normally would have been at by this time, and the car wasn't working. Something was wrong and wasn't starting. I had 40 minutes to get to work! I tried not to panic and texted and called everyone I knew who was local and possibly available. Problem was NO ONE was available.

I called about nine people before I got in touch with my dear friend Maria. She told me she was doing errands (which is code word for SHOPPING-- I know her too well!) and said she'd have no problem picking me up! Success! Or so I thought.

Here in New Jersey, just about every surrounding town had some construction going on and all major roads were blocked off and detours up the wazoo! Maria had actually passed my school not once but TWICE in trying to follow the detours to getting to my school. And people were already showing up! A master's nightmare! She finally got to my house, we went over to the school, and at the red light, we heard this ringing : ding ding ding ding ding! Are you KIDDING me?! A train!!!

We looked at each other and began to laugh our butts off. ONLY US! It was the most comical moment. And truth be told, Maria was chosen by the celestial powers that be to be there with me because anyone else would have sighed in annoyance or burst out in anger or cursed at the train. Nope. Not with Maria. We laughed and compared it to a Lucy and Ethel moment. We were in a similar situation when we saw The Lion King on Broadway and couldn't find our bus home. It was one of the best times being lost I ever had.

I made it to classes! The next day I thought will be better. Negative. I got the car working, got to work, my computer monitor wasn't working. I had a lot of computer work, printing, and emails to make. This was not good. Someone brought over an extra monitor and we found out it was not the monitor or chords. So another computer saavy friend who has a technology business came to look at it, and turns out the computer is SHOT. Damn! NOT good!

He was able to save the hard drive and will fix up a new computer. Then I checked emails on my phone and got an upsetting email. It was just one thing after another after another. I thought of Alexander from the book. So the NEXT day I traveled around with my hard drive doing stuff until right before my classes I realized I lost it! Not only was my work on it but also my book! I panicked but ended up finding it in the street. Although it was run over (what seemed like three times) it was salvaged and backed up immediately. This was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad WEEK!

But you know what? I remembered to laugh! I wanted to cry a lot, but I didn't, instead I laughed in each moment. And you know what? That means I am alive! What a gift to be alive! We all have crazy times and crazy moments, we all make mistakes, and sometimes when it rains it pours. But remember, even the water at the end of the waterfall returns to calm streams. Never lose sight of that! I almost did! And sometimes we need to remind ourselves and each other! (BOWS)

Yours in service,
MASTER A TRENTO