Sometimes, you have one of those days that just spirals into crappiness for no good reason. Little stuff piles up and becomes big stuff. Today was one of those days.
You ever walk up to a group of people and they stop talking? And you KNOW they were just talking about you. My first thought is, "Oooh, maybe they're planning a surprise party for me!" but then my second thought is, "Crap. This ain't good. What'd I do now?" That happened to me today--twice.
Throughout the day, my allergies flared up, and I started sneezing. I bought some soup at lunch and planned to power through the rest of the afternoon. But, my medicine wasn't working. I ran out of tissues. Finally, I just chalked up the rest of the day to sick time, so I could be gross in the comfort of my own home.
Lying on the couch in my robe, I called up a friend to tell her about my craptastic day. Maybe I caught her at a bad time, but I got the brush-off, sort of an "Eh, what are ya gonna do?" response. When I hung up, I felt crappier than before.
And I couldn't shake it, the indifference from several women in one day. Normally, I could count on the hustle and bustle of our family within our home to cheer me up instantly. But, the house was empty. The kids were at school. My husband had driven a friend to Maryland for a cancer treatment. On any other day, I would relish a couple hours to myself.
Standing in my kitchen, I whipped out my phone and sent a Facebook message to four of my friends, women I've known since junior high in Georgia. I told them I was having a bad day and asked for some prayers. All four responded within minutes.
Prayers going up!
Take a bath, drink a cocktail!
You are so loved!
And know that you are loved dearly all the way down here in Nuberg!
That last one made me smile because you don't have to know where Nuberg is to know that it's a long way from there to my house in Pennsylvania. That's a lotta love. It made me think of Li Po's poem "The River Merchant's Wife" (translated by Ezra Pound) where the narrator writes a love letter to her husband who has been away traveling for several months:
If you are coming down through the narrows of the river,
Please let me know beforehand,
And I will come out to meet you
As far as Cho-fo-Sa.
You don't have to know where Cho-fo-Sa is to know it's a haul.
Tomorrow's another day, and I will remember my friends' kind words: I'm loved. All the way down in Nuberg. And as far as Cho-fo-Sa.
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