I woke up this morning in a really bad mood. I'm sure my mood had something to do with the ninety-six degree hot and humid day the weather forecasters had predicted, coupled with the fact that shortly thereafter I discovered our air conditioner was leaking. This happened last year, and I still remember how miserable we were while we waited for the A/C guys to come out and fix the problem. Reliving that misery is not something I wish to repeat.
My to-do list for the day was lengthy, and the first item on the agenda was to take Alyssa to Best Buy so she could purchase a new video game for Matt. The game was released today, and according to Alyssa, it was going to fly off the shelves. So off we went to Best Buy at 9:45 a.m. It was 84 degrees when we left. Thirty minutes later, it had reached 90. The air conditioner problem was ever present in the back of my mind as I watched the temperature rise.
And so when Alyssa pulled a "senior attitude" in the car , I was none too pleased. I remember being a senior in high school, and I distinctly remember having a "senior attitude." What I don't remember is acquiring the attitude one week after completing my junior year. Nor do I remember constantly telling my mom that I was old enough to do this, and old enough to do that - referring to things that I most certainly was not old enough to do. Apparently, times have changed, because Alyssa has the attitude BIG TIME. All I can say is she chose a bad day to try it out on me. It didn't fly. But I know this is only the beginning. My hope is that we will find a happy medium during her senior year and that the "senior attitude" will not permeate her otherwise bright personality, because today, her "senior attitude" did nothing to improve my "cranky attitude."
After taking a deep breath and telling myself that Alyssa was just testing her limits and that she still stumbles now and then, and after telling myself that the A/C will either work or it won't, I decided to take a minute to read a bit from the current Guideposts Magazine. Wow. What an inspired decision that turned out to be. As I was leafing through the pages, I came across this brilliant quote - it turned my day around!
"Anger is only one letter short of danger."
I decided right then and there to do everything I could to get rid of my bad attitude and to lose the anger that was building up inside me. Things happen... the weather turns hot, air conditioners conk out, kids test limits. Not every day is going to be a cake walk. That's life. That's what makes the journey interesting. And that's what builds character.
As I thought about this, I realized that the reason I woke up cranky was because I was not looking forward to working around interruptions from two teenagers all day. I've become very spoiled and am used to working in peace and quiet for hours on end - things are different in the summer, and my fear was that I would not be able to give my work the attention it required. But today as I worked with the new Luxe paper and pretties, I made a pleasant discovery: instead of spending the day stressing, I spent the day putzing with the product while I chatted with John. For some reason, John is fascinated with the 1970's, and he is constantly asking me questions about how things were when I was a teenager. Today we talked about music (he loves classic rock, so this is a frequent topic of conversation for us). We talked about clothing styles (he can't get over the fact that girls wore pants that tight!). We talked about classes and grades and teachers (he was shocked when I confessed that I actually received an F in a class when I was a junior). And then we talked about dating and curfews (my least favorite topic of conversation with teens) - all the while, I continued to work on Make and Take project ideas and designing pages. The time flew by, and my stress level was zero all afternoon.
Tonight as I sit down and contemplate the day, I can't get over how much difference one small quote made in my attitude. Had I not read the quote, I may have continued to be cranky throughout the day. And because I was not too happy with Alyssa, and I was freaking out about the air conditioner, and I was stressing like a fool about the CHA projects, I was definitely on the verge of anger, which is just short of danger. I don't want to spend my summer angry - because that truly does cross the line from safe parenting to dangerous parenting. I am not a good parent when I am cranky - my temper is short, my patience are nil, and my coping skills are weak. The quote served not only as a wake up call, but also as a turning point. And when all is said and done, I'm so glad that the D lurking behind the anger was brought to my attention. I caught it in time and my afternoon spent with John included moments that I will cherish for a long time to come. And heck, now that I know "senior attitude" is in the house, I'll be better prepared the next time it rears it's ugly head.
lol @ senior attitude. Oh yeah, I had that. But I think mine was freshman and sophomore attitude. God is good and brought you that word just when you needed it. :)
Love,
Jennifer
Posted by: Jennifer Stewart | June 30, 2007 at 05:55 PM
it is so funny how something we read can totally change our day. Hope things are going better.
Posted by: Chiara | June 30, 2007 at 08:05 AM
Oh friend! I LOVE Guideposts Magazine! : ) So glad you were able to read those words at that very moment--God really does work in mysterious ways, doesn't he?!?
Miss you!
Love you!
xoxo.
Posted by: becca | June 28, 2007 at 11:30 AM
Good luck with the A/C! GIANT HUGS for the rest....
Posted by: slammie | June 28, 2007 at 11:26 AM
Great post Kelly. Once again you are keeping it very real. I have been having those cranky, short temper days with my kids lately too. I mean really how much can it really hurt if I just HOLD the brush next to a 4 year olds hair - it isn't even like I actually ran the brush through the hair. Senior attitude is bad and so is 4 year old attitude, whining included!!! I'm going to remember the Guideposts quote because frankly I need it this week!
Posted by: Angie | June 28, 2007 at 10:27 AM
Let me know how to cure "senior attitude" because I've got "junior-co-captain-of-cheer-squad-attitude" and it's big and bad. I don't think we can all exist here in our house at the same time. Something's going to have to go and I don't want it to be me! Good luck.
Susan.
Posted by: Susan | June 28, 2007 at 09:51 AM