And It Knocks You Down

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.

When life isn't going right, go left.

If you're going through hell, keep going.

When the going gets tough, the tough get going.


You know the saying - no matter how you say it, the sentiment is the same, as demonstrated above - and we've all been there. Life gets tough. And sometimes it seems that life keeps knocking you down when you've already been knocked down in the first place.

For me, this week was one of those "knock you down" weeks. On Monday, things were going fine minus a few sneezes and a bit of a sore throat. Didn't think much of it, but I ate some chicken noodle soup, bought some orange juice and strawberries, took some meds, and went to bed early just to be on the safe side.

Tuesday morning rolled around, and it was hard to even think about lifting my head. I knew I was not able to be a functioning human being, so I texted my principal and took a sick day (when I proceeded to spend all of it on the couch in a combo of napping, reading, trying to get as much Vitamin C as possible, and listening to podcasts...and then more napping).

On Wednesday, things were looking (and feeling) better. The weather was beautiful, we had girls running club, and we celebrated our 8th grade athletes at the sports banquet. On my way home, though, my tire pressure light came on about 2 miles from home. When I pulled into my garage and got out of the car to check, I saw it - a very flat rear passenger tire. I texted my principal right away - I couldn't believe it! I never miss work, and here I was missing at least 1.5 days in the same week.

Luckily I have AAA, so I called them first thing on Thursday morning, and they came within an hour and a half. While I was waiting, I ended up talking to my dad on the phone. (He was on his way to the dentist, so I don't know which of us was having the worse morning...) He said I sounded surprisingly calm about the tires. I wondered in a situation like this, when there's nothing I could do about it, how I could not be calm or where, exactly, worrying/freaking out would get me? Apparently, I used to be more of a freaker-outer. I guess times have changed...

Once they put on the spare, I headed to a local tire place recommended by a friend. It would be about 2 hours for them to take care of my car, as they had a long line of customers who had previously made appointments. So, I left my car there, headed back home, went for a quick run, got cleaned up and ready for work, and then went back to the car place. By then, my car was ready to go (the tire was patchable...but the front tire was in need of replacing, so they took care of that while they were at it), and I was finally on my way to school...got there right in time for lunch duty.

At the end of the day, which was actually the end of the 1:30-4pm teacher PD session, my principal and I found out that one of our teachers will not be returning next year. It was somewhat of a shock...and we already have quite a few leaving (most of whom are retiring)...so that added a bit more stress...sent some texts to friends before heading out to send quality candidates my way, so praying and crossing fingers on this one.

My purpose in writing this post is not to complain. The truth is, it's kind of comical how everything hits you at once...that when it rains it pours...or, well, you know... It reminds me a bit of that quote that goes along the lines of this: "If you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans." And it also made me realize that my troubles pale in comparison to those that others deal with (some on a regular basis), so who am I to get worked up over these more trivial things that happen to anyone on any given day.

Bottom line - it's not worth the stress or the fretting. Take another look and it suddenly ain't so bad.