1) It wasn't taken today.
2) It was taken at Disney World, a.k.a. "The Happiest Place on Earth."
I miss having small children in my home...I'm not gonna' lie about that one. I don't miss having small children melting down in my home...not gonna' lie about that one, either.
But, unless you've been living under a rock your entire life, you've probably noticed all sorts of people melting down at one point or another. Old people, teenagers, pro athletes, the Cavewoman...
We typically melt because something is wrong. We are experiencing a crisis.
We are having...a bad day.
One of my boys' favorite books was, "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day" by Judith Viorst. I don't know Ms. Viorst and I'm not receiving any compensation for this plug, but if you don't have this in your personal library - get it.
Not only because it's great for children, but also because it helps us big people put things into perspective on occasion.
The screaming child in this picture, and his older brothers, were not strangers to thinking they often experienced "very bad days." I hate to single him out, but Boy #2 could be especially dramatic. I have no idea who he got that from...
When he was in elementary school, I would often pick him up and before he even hit the backseat of my vehicle, I knew. His face would have this look of despair that was unmistakable. Very, bad day face.
I would try to pretend I hadn't noticed, "Hey, Keither! How's it going?" "Terrible! I had the worst day ever! EVER!"
The first few times he pulled this, it worked. My mom heart would break and I would try to figure out and fix. Because I thought that's what a good mom did. Figure out. Fix.
Somehow, it didn't work at all.
Then I had a wise talk with my wise mom. "Don't you remember those early days of high school when I would drop you off on my way to work? You were such a mess!" (That was my mom talking.) Oh, yes, I remembered. I would be freaking out about my hair not being perfect or not liking my outfit and then break into a rant of "worst day ever." My mom? Unflappable.
She would not say much at all, except, "I'll be waiting in the car. Better get it together."
Once in the car...silence. Or, worse yet, she would hum. HUM! Like she was happy and completely oblivious to the world crashing down around us!
As I slid out of the passenger seat, I would sadly glance back for one last crack at empathy. "'Bye! I'm not going to let you ruin my day!" Seriously. She said that. My mother is a genius.
I hate to tell you guys out there in caveland, but sometimes, this is just what our little cave-darlings want. Doting. Sympathizing. Catering. Caving-in. (Pun intended.)
But, sometimes what they need is reminders.
The world still spins. The sun shall rise again. God is on His throne.
I needed these reminders as a teenager - one who could be quite vain. I need these reminders as a (cough!) young woman - one who has varicose veins. And when shorts' season comes, has a mini-meltdown. (Now that I've made that public, maybe I won't be so pathetic next summer.)
I'm not stupid. Well, not too stupid anyway. I know some of you have a pile of life-garbage to deal with right now. But, some of us...we just think we do. And we let that thinking keep us from letting our light shine through the cracked pots we call our persons.
Be encouraged today. All of us, at times, are pressed, crushed, persecuted.
Thankfully, with Christ, we can't be destroyed. Thankfully, He - not mom - is the Master of Figure Out and Fix.
www.diaryofacavewoman.com
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