The Beauty of Perspective

It seems like almost every single day something goes wrong in my life. One of my kids is sick or the dryer is making an awful noise or the dog is limping or on an extra fun day…all of the above.

It can be really overwhelming as a mom to have so many different things to juggle and to wear so many different hats.

Last week, my son was sick with the flu. He just had Covid two weeks prior so the timing was awful. The flu gave him a high fever, body aches, a sore throat and he was exhausted.

I was playing nurse to him when suddenly my dog was having multiple accidents a day. And to keep things really interesting, the heat upstairs stopped working..

On days like that, I feel really overwhelmed and like I can’t handle it all.

The next morning I was on my Peloton spinning. I was going through my “to do” list in my head and it occurred to me how lucky I was that I could still get in my exercise with everything going on.

Then I thought, “Ok, so Jack is home sick, but his fever is a little better today and he has a little more energy.”

Next, I thought how lucky I am to be able to have my heat fixed so quickly.

Suddenly, I was gaining perspective for all my woes.

Yes, being a mom is hard and owning a home is hard and having cars is hard and having a dog is hard, but….they are what make my life so rich and full.

There is no doubt that some days are more challenging than others. When a lot of things go wrong, it can be difficult to be positive and tackle each problem as it comes.

But I am learning and trying to reframe my mindset. Most issues, thankfully, can be resolved.

I certainly can’t avoid every problem that will inevitably come up. However, I can remember to have perspective and instead of always thinking, “This is terrible”, I can think, “This is no fun, but it is fixable.”

When I was living in Texas, I had a friend who was dying of cancer. She was only 40 years old. She had an amazing husband, two beautiful kids, her parents, and so many friends.

Everyone was doing what they could to help her. Everything from dropping off meals to watching her kids and driving her to appointments.

She was very honest about her journey and said something that I need to hold close to my heart on the hard days.

She said, “If a problem can be solved with money, it’s not really a problem.”

Thank you, Alana, for reminding me and giving me this much needed perspective.

From now on, I will try to reframe my mindset and call these issues ‘blessings’ that need to be handled.

I know she’d do anything to be here and have my problems.

Life is hard and messy and can be overwhelming. However, sometimes, we need to pause and remember just how lucky we are to have all these things that need attention.

The beauty of perspective is now my thoughts are-”Thank God my sick kid is getting better.” “Thank God I have a roof over my head.” And then just, “Thank you God.”