Like I thought she knew how to open our main door. But turned out she didn't and I got locked out of the house. Worse was that the lock got damaged and I had to change it, which cost me a few hundred bucks. Later in the week, she saw minor leakage in the pipe below the kitchen sink and attempted to 'repair' it. She didn't succeed and I called in the plumber (just when I was rushing out for an important meeting with client) and spent another hundred bucks.
Then, there was the little one who had been refusing his antibiotic. Every medication time turned into a major battle that easily lasted half an hour. It left us, the adults, feeling totally defeated and depressed. What made it even more challenging was that each time we thought we found a way to get him to take his medication, the next day, he might refuse again and we had to think of something new again. It's totally exhausting. It doesn't help that I've been sleeping late to rush some projects and was more short-fused as a result. Thankfully, he's only got to take the antibiotic for one more day!
In times like these, it's easy for me to complain about how difficult things were and start dwelling on the negative.
But I know it won't make the situation any better. Instead, I decided to look out for the silver lining and focus on the little victories and successes. Here's my discoveries in pictorials...
One evening, the little boy came into my room and started creating a mess by pulling the tissues out of the box. I got angry...
But when I saw how happy he was, my anger disappeared. I'm learning to be more relaxed about toddler-created mess, to see things from the little boy's perspective and enjoy the humour in such childish acts, for I know that these will not last and someday I'll look back and wish for more of such moments.
With a toddler around, I'm learning to look at what's around me with fresh eyes - like the way my boy creatively used his toy to redesign the door knob (he lengthened it and make it more "user-friendly").
My boy is also a constant reminder that the greatest joy is often found in the simplest things.
Work had piled up high as I had been sick for two weeks. It hadn't been productive working at home and I finally decided to get out of the house, enjoy a nice, simple breakfast at a cafe and worked there. In two hours, I finished a project. Sometimes, a simple change of environment (getting away from all the usual distractions and disturbances) is all it takes to work more productively.
Lastly, I thank God for surrounding me with beauty (I love the colours of the leaves), filling my heart with Peace and giving me new Hope everyday.
How about you? How do you keep positive when the going gets tough? Or what tips do you have in working more productively (I need more ideas for this!)?
I'm thankful for the lessons learnt last week and praying for a beautiful new week. May you have a great week too!
"Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, it's learning to dance in the rain." ~ unknown
(saw this quote on a friend's Facebook page and thought how true)
