This summer I’ve decided to throw working my life away to the wind. Working so hard is for the dogs, and if I’ve learned anything this year is that life is too short. Losing three loved ones in a little over six months will do that to a gal.
Today started like any other day, with some fabulous coffee with Mark my AT&T rep. It makes a gal’s day when a guy comes with new technology goodies for me to play with. You should be excited because he came with technology goodies for me to giveaway to you too! (Everyone say hi, Mark!)
Because I am in the land of the scatter brained I had to head back to my old house in South Minneapolis. Lovely FedEx delivered a package to my old house because I hadn’t changed my address in time. Off the eldest daughter and I headed down a wee 45 minute drive to pick up a package. It wasn’t what I planned for the day, but at least it was beautiful out.
That’s where things got frustrating. Got to the house, and the package was gone. See, I had put in a request for FedEx to hold the package, but got a notification that it was at the house. (Thus my trip down there) When I got there I was greeted by a worker saying that FedEx had dropped it, but then picked it back up again. In the meantime he mentioned how they had OPENED my package, and that it had “some piggy bank” in there, and when FedEx came back to pick it back up they had to reseal the package.
This admission had me HOT. Like Looney Tunes steam coming out of my ears HOT! Not only had they opened a package that wasn’t theirs he didn’t seem to think there was anything wrong with that. Tomorrow I am going to pick up the package and let’s just hope the $50 Walmart gift card that was also in that package was still there.
You might be asking what the hell all this has to do with wee Japanese gardens. Here’s the thing. This year has been so ultimately crappy for my family, I’ve been trying to control how I react to all the crap that life has thrown at me. There’s been months lost this year where I could barely get out of bed, and though the crap keeps on coming it’s time that I take my life back.
Rather than fuming all day over the audacity of some, my eldest daughter and I took the opportunity take an impromptu trip to a small Japanese garden that’s here in Bloomington, Minnesota. It made the oldest daughter happy, and it gave me some time not to want to strangle someone that violated my package. The gardens weren’t very big, but it gave eldest girl child and I some time to hang together, be silly, and connect.
Keiran will be 16 in March, and through all the death and loss this year it makes me realize that the years are slipping away faster than I can wrap my mind around. Soon it will be fall, then winter. Then years will fly past, and my eldest daughter will be off to college. It’s time I embrace each and every day rather than plowing my life into work to numb my feelings.
Every time we come against a difficult situation. There are many ways we can handle it. We can choose to suffer through it, or we can choose to rise above it. I don’t know about you, but I am done with suffering through it. Days are long and hard and sad, but there are so many things that bring joy too. If we spent more time thing about those things that make us happy, we might just find that happiness is within our grasp not just a pipedream under ideal situations.
Peggy McAloon says
You picked the perfect spot to spend time and connect with your daughter in Bloomington. I too have found myself there when life tried to overwhelm me. We will not allow that to happen. Everyone needs to find a place to go, let go of all the garbage that tries to steal our thunder, and simply enjoy the beauty of those things that have been created especially for our entertainment. Thanks for a great article that took me back in time. It won’t be the last time someone opens something not addressed to them and that is unfortunate. There are some jerks out there but the majority are people who really do care if you give them a few minutes of your time to connect. Thanks for a fun article.
Ashley Sears says
Peggy, I thought so too. It was small, but a really fun place. She is obsessed with Japanese culture so the impromptu trip made her day. Yep, life is too short for the bull shit so we need to embrace the good moments. Thanks so much for commenting.
saminder gumer says
i went to a japanese garden in seattle a little while ago and it was absolutely beautiful. i also got to see a japanese tea ceremony and i took lots of great pics.