The Glass is Half-Full

I've been feeling short-changed lately, and that is not a feeling I want to have. Big things and little things have been piling up, trying to make me less than grateful for the million good things in my life. And I am not going to let them!

Where did it start? Well, I had the week at home with Max and Colby, losing and finding my mind. Then I had a hectic Friday. The morning was a long OB appointment complete with a 4-D ultrasound, which was awesome! It's definitely a boy, and he is adorable! More on that later.

I then went to a jewelry store and used a gift certificate toward a little bling for myself. It was a gorgeous four-pearl pendant (one for each kid!) on a ball chain. I happily paid the difference. Unfortunately, the pendant had its own separate clasp, and I kept realizing throughout the weekend how insecure it was. I repeatedly found it, hooked it back on and stupidly kept wearing it, thinking I'd have it soldered first chance I got. What happened next? You got it: it fell off one final time sometime Sunday evening, and I have yet to find it.

After my jewelry store stop and a quick lunch on Friday, I had a meeting in Athens in the afternoon. It was stressful and a bit tense. And I got a parking ticket while I was there. After the meeting finally ended, I slipped the 4-D ultrasound CD in my computer at work, anxious to print more photos of my little man... It was blank! I tried to call the office, but they had closed early for the weekend.

So I head to the grocery store, spend too much, and decide I deserve a sweet tea from McD's. Of course, I didn't realize how old and rancid it tasted until I'd driven away.

By the time I got home, Shrek was aching to get on the road to his nephew's playoff football game. The kids were all in or near meltdown mode, and the groceries were cooking around me, waiting to be put away.

So even though the rest of the weekend went fairly well, and Max is finally feeling a bit better, I went into this Monday worried about returning to work after being gone a week. I felt shorter and less powerful somehow. (The weak, terrible coffee didn't help a thing.)

And that feeling persisted throughout my morning. I talked to a couple close colleagues about it, put my head down and charged into my to-do list. By lunch, I was smart enough to leave the office, buy a coffee (much better!) and a frozen pumpkin custard and then sit in the glorious Athens sunshine to enjoy them.

And that's when things started to look up. I got a message on my cell phone that a second ultrasound CD, promised functional, is waiting on me at the front desk at the doctor's office. While I haven't yet found that pearl pendant, I believe I will. One day of the three-day work week is down, some major tasks have been completed, and I no longer feel overwhelmed.

My house and my heart are full. I have what I need and what I want, even. I am lucky lucky lucky and thankful beyond belief. And I always believe, even when it feels like someone is trying to take me down, that the glass is half full. If I can't keep my optimism, I really won't make it in this crazy, tragic thing I call life.

Oh, and I did get one picture of my little darling, who is about to make this life more full, more lovely and more challenging. He really is adorable! (Please disregard the umbilical cord floating up around his neck and nose. I hope to show you even more amazing photos as soon as I get that CD!)

Hello, baby boy! We can't wait to meet you....