Have you ever read the children's book
"Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day," by
Judith Viorst? It's one of my favourite children's stories, and, clearly, a
favourite amongst children too. As you might have guessed, Alexander's day
didn't turn out exactly as he planned. As far as he is concerned, everything
that could go wrong did (through the eyes of a five year old). For instance,
his two brothers pull very cool prizes out of the cereal box in the
morning, and he gets only cereal Or, he ends up having to go to the
dentist, and then finds out he has to go shopping for shoes with his mom…. It's
been a while since I've read the book, but I do remember that his perceived
list of injustices of the day is an extensive one, and, as an adult - it looks
like a cute little list. What does Alexander propose as a solution? Moving to
Austrailia, because everything there is upside down compared to where he is
now, and therefore a terrible day will be a fantastic day in Australia. Oh, to
have the innocence of a child….
If we consider
real-life-recovery-land, whether you are an adult, child, or adult caring for a
child (or I guess an adult caring for an adult for that matter), it's easy to
feel like many days are much like Alexander's. Maybe the phone is ringing while
the IV pump is chiming, the dog is barking - which incidentally - causes
the baby wake up when you just got her down, and you are trying to quiet the
baby in a hurry so the nurse can get to work on you right away. Oh, and did I
remember to mention that you do all of the above while in a whole lot of pain?
Sound familiar? Or, perhaps, none of the above happen at the same time, but the
day is filled with event after overwhelming event? We're not the only ones
capable of having an "Alexander" day (I can think of a whole lot of
parents of wee ones…), where your life seems to have be confused for some black
pit where all ill-seeming-events and struggles converge. It just feels
that way sometimes.
So, what to do about it? Well,
if Alexander is right, we should all move to Australia! Barring that, I think
coping is better when you remember the following (not sure who coined the
phrase, but love it):
It's amazing what a change in focus can do for one's spirits. When you feel like Alexander, that's okay, acknowledge the bad. But don't forget to focus on the "something good" too. Even if it's just one thing, a little something good can make a very big difference.
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