Which Bag are You Toting?

Have you ever thought of what a mixed bag Life is? And how the mental list you keep closest track of, dictates whether the bag you tote feels perky and light, like your favorite purse at the outset of a shoe-shopping expedition, or more like a tramp's satchel, saturated by rain, and emitting odors which cannot be uttered?

If you haven't, you should. Because it's an interesting thought. And interesting thoughts are not as plentiful as they should be.

Take any given day. Anybody's.  Add it all up... and there is probably a pretty equal amount of good and bad....some days equaller than others.

Today, for example. (I'll take mine because I don't know about your's.)
But I was pondering what an excellent, excellent day it was, when the pain from My Tooth interrupted my train of thought.

This interruption inspired the thoughts I am getting ready to think, and some I have already thought, the sum of which will make up this blog, which will, I hope, be short. Because it is late. And last night was later.

Here is a list of bad things...

~ I could hardly wake up this morning. I could not sleep last night till the wee hours and felt like a wrung-out dishrag when it was time to get up.

~ There was mold on the skim of coffee in the coffee pot. This signifies a number of very bad things. You are smart enough to figure them out.

~ I was in no shape to deal with mold. I had instant, instead. It wasn't very good. I fixed another for the Chief. It was worse.

~ I left my Bible and quarterly at church. I forgot it again, when we were there this afternoon.

~ We went to sing for a man who was on his death-bed, or death couch, in this case. We sang a song we had sung at Mother's funeral. I cried the whole way through in front of complete strangers. I had no tissues, so I had to whisk "it" away as best I could. I wiped "it" on the belt of Becky's dress. Gross.

~ The Tooth.
    If you ever had A Tooth you know what I mean. It will either have to stay or go. Either option is awful.      
~ I lost the game of Settlers of Catan. Again.

~ The tea in our fridge tastes like furniture polish.

~ I started washing dishes this evening, and stopped partway through. The gray water is still in the sink. I hate this, but not enough to get up and finish them. The character flaws this illustrates are not pretty.

Where do I stop? I could keep going for some time...but let's not.


Here is the list of good things...

~ I found hairballs to match Becky's dress this morning without having to look much or untangle anything from anything else.

~ I got to teach my Sunday School Littles and they were all so much fun, and they actually helped sing this morning instead of just looking at me.

~ I remembered to take my little notebook to church to take notes. This is the ultimate virtue, to take notes during the sermon, but I never, ever remember to take paper. Ever. This morning I did.

~ The sermon was really, really good! And thanks to the note-taking, I still remember what it was about.

~ We had a carry-in dinner at church. There was lots of great meat, fresh garden things, and dessert. Everything I had was prime.

~ It was fun sitting and connecting with the dear church ladies.

~ I remembered to take everything to church I wished to take and give them to the people I needed to give them to. (This is huge.)

~ The Chief and his boys tonight, in animated conversation about mutual interests. It's a beautiful thing.

~ Becky had no idea I wiped that stuff on her belt. She thought I was just putting my arm around her, maybe. She put her arm around me, too.

I had planned to compile an exhaustive list on both accounts but I am realizing about now that this will get ridiculously long, barring a change of plans, so I will stop...

A facebook friend of mine posted this today:
"We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are." ~A. Nin.
This is extra true. And it largely dictates the quality of your life.

Today, I toted the fun purse. Not on purpose, it's just the one I discovered I had. But, tomorrow when I blear my way to the kitchen and see the hag reflected in that gray water, the one who stayed up past midnight typing with her fore-fingers, I can pretty much tell you which bag will be slung over her shoulder.
And I can tell you something else. It is possible for her to switch out bags, if she discovers she grabbed the tramp's satchel.

When you start talking about yourself in second person, it's time to call it a day.

Good night, all.