Take a vacation from your problems

Times have been a bit tough lately. I know on a broader scale I have it good (knock on wood) and I am incredibly grateful. But when little problems pile up, all at once, it's not easy. I don’t want to complain, but I do want to vent a little, and be real. Social media is pretty. Many moments are not.

It's been a whirlwind recently, and all I've wanted to do is take a break and curl up on the couch and feel cozy and at ease. But of course I've had to rise to the occasion. Or, shall I say, occasions. A drive on the Merritt Parkway to get my screaming, puking daughter to the ER. (She's fine! Thank God.) More drives to multiple pharmacies to locate elusive eye drops for pink eye. Administering of said drops in a protesting, squirming child's eyes. Dealing with an ear infection. Tending to two cut fingers. Nursing one forearm burn. And a bee sting. All the while, somehow working without childcare, as the nanny was unexpectedly out for two weeks. And the icing on the cake: having to miss seeing my beloved RHCP, a special plan set months ago.

Oh, and the start of the school year, and all the activities, and packing the snacks and the lunches, and printing family photos. And wait, we need an art smock. And shoot there's another school email. And. and. and. The To Do List lengthens. The problems pop up. I am realizing, it's never ending. And that's OK. Life is beautiful and hard. We can do hard things, as Glennon Doyle says. I am learning that when we solve a problem, the next one pops up. It's not, "I will be OK when I solve this problem." It's "I'm OK, and I'm going to solve this problem." Of course it's not always easy to feel zen when things on the outside feel as if they're falling apart. But that's the work. Take the deep breath, take the walk. Do the meditation. Find moments of peace.

As the good doctor in What About Bob? says, take a vacation from your problems. Vacation awaits, and it's available now, in this very moment.

AES

P.S. Glennon and co. have been discussing this notion in a helpful and enlightening way on their podcast, specifically in the episode How Glennon Lost Her Mind.