Silence and Smiling

I am working on this.  Silence as an answer.  I get frustrated when people yell at me and behave badly.  I want to lash out with words to wipe the smirk off their face.  I know that I cannot, but I get very tired of two year old temper tantrums in the supposedly adult population of the world I live in.  I am exhausted by the bad behavior of others.  I get equally exhausted by the frustrations of my teens who are getting ready to get out of school.  It is finals, field trips, graduation, senior projects, senior trips, concerts and activity after activity after activity.  Culminating in a wild summer with cousins and the other daughters summer earning money by babysitting. 

This week, I am working really hard on responding to negativity with silence and a smile.  I just have to make sure that they do not perceive my smile as laughter.  That could get me in a whole different mess.  It could also heighten the misunderstandings that already surround me.

Today, I am smiling more and frowning less.  It does seem to make a difference.  Maybe, not so much in the way others behave, but definitely in my own level of stress, and my own feelings of peace.  It helps me to breath.  I makes those bad moments seem, no so bad after all. 

I am not sure that silence is always the best answer, but I am sure that I should use it more often.  People really want to be listened to.  They want to explain what is wrong.  So, even when I know, I am trying harder to give them the chance to put it into their own words.  The chance to express themselves.  The chance to hear their own voices in all the noise that surrounds us.

Now, if only it worked for getting my teenagers to do the dishes.......

Take One, Please

Do you need one of these today?  I have often thought about putting this on my quote board at work for people.  Life can be so stressful and sometimes the stress just goes to my face and does something ugly!  For some reason, this month has been one of the worst.  I find myself feeling so unlovable and so very unworthy to be loved.  I also find myself flipping a switch in my mind to the difficulties of the past.  And so, when I look at this, I think how much easier it would be if we could just smile at each other a little more often. 

In my role in customer service, I see the best and the worst in people.  The best is so good.  It uplifts my heart and makes the day easier to get through.  The worst is so bad sometimes that I become a 12 year old child in my mind, and I don't deal with it well at all. 

I just need to find a place where I can breath.  It amazes how truly badly people can behave when they want their way.  It continues to surprise me, when they yell and throw tantrums like giant two year olds.  I wish I could say it only happens once in a great while, but surprisingly, it happens way too often.  Nearly everyday, I have to resolve someone's crisis that they made and now has become my emergency.  The hardest thing for me is that there are no apologies or kindness from those people.  Just aggravation. 

So today, I am smiling through it all.  No matter what happens, I am going to keep myself grounded in the things I know.

"You is kind

You is smart

You is important!"

Wordless Wednesday - Crazy Dog!

A single photo 

– no words –

capturing a moment from our lives.

A simple, special, extraordinary moment.

A moment

I want to pause, savor and remember.

A moment

that brings a smile to my lips, 

and joy to my heart.