Everything Can’t Always Be Gumdrops and Daylilies

I don’t know if it is a woman thing, or just a ‘me’ thing… but I have a tendency to get a little over-dramatic. I will be the first one to admit that I can totally overreact to certain things and once a big deal is made, it’s made… and there’s no turning back. I used to watch Married With Children and would be disgusted at how Al could be so disrespectful and Peg would get upset, only for Al to say something halfway decent / borderline crude and she would light up and grin and say, “Ooooohhhh Alllllll… you really DO love me!!!!” and start picking at her nails and doing her bouncy-leg thing. Then my disgust would turn to jealousy as I wished I could switch my emotions from one extreme to the other that way with such a minimal trigger. Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to just let something slide off your heart with just a blink of an eye or a flip of the tongue? But then I realize that in doing so, Peg (well, Peg’s “character” – yes I do realize it’s just a sitcom, people…) is settling – she’s allowing her self respect to be trampled as she grasps for and clings to any little resemblance of love.

While it is frustrating that I have a hard time getting out of a “mood” once I’ve been put in one, I have to be thankful that I have sense enough to expect – and demand – the consideration due me. It’s not about pride or self-absorbency. It’s about treating others with pure, uncompromising respect and allowing them to keep their dignity intact regardless of differences, disagreements, or even arguments – and fully requiring those I allow in my life to treat me with the same degree of unadulterated regard for my feelings. I have a sincere problem with people who use others as scapegoats, taking out their frustration on those around them rather than dealing with their emotions in a mature and rational manner. In a nutshell, there is nothing more unappealing and divisive than a grown person who can’t process their emotions with any more tact or decency than a tantrum-prone toddler still possessing the “me.me.me” mentality.

Personally, I recognize the need within myself to maintain peace, resolve conflict, and cut losses timely so that my own sanity isn’t lost in the confusion of dangling onto issues that just seem to linger in the balance. When I was a child, I thought like one – I behaved like one. Frankly, I screwed up ROYALLY like one. But, now… well… I’m not that same drama-seeking teenager that would be quick to fire a verbal bullet to spark the fuel to fire our Monday morning high school pre-class gossip. I’m a grown woman and I just don’t have the patience to tolerate foolishness. I acknowledge that everything can’t always be gumdrops and daylilies but when I can pinpoint the one constant amidst all the variables that seem to be on a perpetual mission to work my freakin last nerve, I’m woman enough to also acknowledge that while some things are for a lifetime, sometimes you also have to swallow that jagged little pill of reality and digest the fact that many things are only meant for a season – even if it was a very looooong season.

Experience the seasonal things… learn from them… but most importantly, be willing to let them go and know that once a season is gone, it’s gone. Use the reflective wisdom to strengthen the things that are with you for life.