Life's Struggles

 

It is Alphabae-Thursday with Jenny Matlock.  The letter today is S.  Yesterday was a rough day.  It was a real Struggle...

Last Sunday in church a beautiful talk was given on struggles.   She is a cancer survivor.  She talked about how her trials could be seen by all, and then went onto say there are other types of trials that can not be seen, but are just as bad.  She is truly an amazing person, and to look at her you would not know the fight she went through.  And likewise, we do not know the fight of others.

Yesterday was a huge struggle just to get through. First struggle of the day was teen angst and getting past it in order to get to school.  It's never an easy thing.  Life at 13 is just one big struggle.  It's hard to remember that when you are all grown up.  Another struggle is when you are younger and want to be treated fairly.  Fair is fair, and everyone is going to school. 

Once past that struggle, I was faced with another.  Well this time it wasn't mine.  It was someone else's.  But since I was in public I had to endure it.  I went shopping at Wally with my mom yesterday.  And while we were there, I think there must have been at least three different sets of kids screaming bloody murder.  And this wasn't just a small fit by any of these kids.  They were full blown-I'm-going-to-get-my-way tantrums.  I was reminded of my 19/20 year old self, who upon hearing such shrieks would swear to never have children. Ever.  Today I was just happy and grateful on many levels, that those struggles were not mine.

It was raining yesterday.  And in CA, that means you might melt.  We parked in the handicapped spot, because my mom has a plaque and it is legal.  We don't normally park in those spots.  Since my mom had her knees replaced she gets around worlds better and is even doing Zumba now. Long story short we both forgot about the plaque. Yep, I was cited for it.  And just for general information those things are not cheap.  Yes, we can have it corrected without court and so on, but what a pain. 

Later yesterday another struggle came my way in the form of an email from my middle's teacher.  She struggles so much in school.  She has an IEP.  They work really hard and well with her and me.  But something had gone amiss in our system, and I am just now realizing that it was our communication--which was through her agenda that she takes to and from school with class assignments--it got left behind weeks ago and neither of us knew this.

By the time I got all the kids home from school, I was struggling to keep my sanity.  I wanted to get away.  Not run away.  Though sometimes that thought crosses my mind too.  It was a challenge to even get dinner made.  Then I was tired of struggling with my day.  I finally reached out to my dear friend Emmy.  She came and got me, and we went to Barnes and Noble and sat in the little cafe with cookies and hot chocolate.  It was pleasantly quiet.  There was no chaos.  No struggles.  Just stories of children and laughter at their antics.  Eye rolls at their devious ways.  I felt worlds better after that.  Like I could carry on and be a nice mom.

It was a long day and I struggled through.  Some of the struggles are still there and need work.  Other struggles are past.  There are more struggles to come.  Some all at once and some over time.  It's how we deal with them. 

How do you deal with your struggles?