“Mom, where are you?” His quiet low voice sounded oddly loud threw the Bluetooth.

“Almost home, I’m turning onto Old Bridge Rd,” I answered cheerfully, I’m actually going to make it to my spin class after this crazy long day.  

“Well, I have to go to Nokado, I’m going to be late.” 

I took a long deep breath, Nokado? That means I have to drive back in the direction I just came from… I’ve been driving for over an hour. I cleared my throat, “Where’s Daddy, why can’t he take you?” 

“He took Hayley to school. You have to take me.”

I sighed, “Ok, make sure you grab a bottle of water, I’m almost home.”  I turned onto our street and started running down the list: I’ll take him, then I’ll lay out my clothes, pack and (pre)track my breakfast and lunch, what are we eating for dinner tonight? Oh yeah, we have those frozen chicken burgers and they are 5 SmartPoints I like those… wait, we need rolls.  I have to finish the tax stuff, I have to pre-tweet the Twitter Chat questions this week try to make that a priority, maybe I’ll be able to make back in time for spin…

The Beat Goes On Because Sometimes Plans Don’t Work Out 

As I stop the world and take this bit time to reflect and write my story for the day; I wonder about everyone else’s story.  What does the rest of today hold for the teachers who had to stay after school with me?  I wonder about all of you who are devoting a bit of time to read this post, what is your story for today? I like to believe that we are all out there in the world trying our best to make a positive impact.  Life is complicated. Life is overwhelming. Life is likely to present challenges.

In case you were wondering how it worked out, my son did make it to Nokado exactly on time and I did not get back in time to make the spin class. It certainly was another very long day.  Day number two of after-school professional development is (officially) on the books. I had hoped to be able to get some energy back this afternoon by getting in activity. I was up too late last night to go before work. It didn’t work out and in the past, that might have soured my entire day. It didn’t today, and I’d like to tell you why.

It’s funny, but it’s only now that I am thinking about it that I realize how important it is to try not to take out disappointment or frustration out on the people around me (hello petty arguments, stinky attitudes, or sarcasm). It’s also really important not to beat up on myself either (hello cookies, cake, or chips). None of those scenarios happened and the difference is being a victim or being my own hero. What’s the secret? Here is what you can do in three moves to shift your perspective:

1. Allow yourself to really feel the feeling
2. Name what happened and name the feeling
3. Decide what you can do and take some time for yourself

This is what I did:

1. I experienced annoyance, frustration, defeated because there’s so much to do
2. Now I have to drive David and I can’t do what I wanted I’m overwhelmed
3. I’ll drive David.  I’ll write my post instead of going to spin and prioritize the rest

Like so many important lessons, once you get it, it’s hard to understand why it was so difficult to learn in the first place. I get it now. I’m learning every day and I have a very grateful heart. Thank you, thank you, thank you for reading.