What did you do with your extra day this year? This is a leap year, and yesterday, February 29th, was leap day. I'd like to say I used mine productively, but I woke up to a computer that would NOT turn on and things seemed to go downhill from there.
Can I just say how thankful I was that I emailed my rough drafts to my online email account at 4 a.m.? That really was the only thing that kept me from tipping right over the edge into panic mode.
When you make your living with your computer, it not starting sort of puts a damper on your day. I spent a lot of time yesterday spinning my wheels in frustration, and then from there, going into irritation with my life in general.
It's amazing how quickly I can take an isolated event, and suddenly, it becomes about a lot more than just that particular event. Now it's about my life as a whole and what is wrong with it. Do you ever do that? It's like when you have a small misunderstanding with your husband over something minor and suddenly it becomes about something a whole lot bigger than a missed bill or not taking out the trash.
Eventually, I did calm down and realize that life had not ended because my computer wouldn't turn on - there were other possibilities. My good friend, Amber, loaned me her old laptop which, with a little visit to Office Max, I could have gotten up and running. My husband reminded me I could use his computer at work for a day or so. A panic attack was not really necessary.
It also drove home to me the importance of weeding through my files and saving important documents to a flash drive. To be honest, I've known I needed to do this for a while, but this incident made me realize doing it sooner rather than later might be the wiser course of action. As a procrastinator, sometimes, I need a fire lit under me to get me moving on something.
I ended up getting lost on my way to an interview with a really interesting lady who researches grave stones. Fortunately, I had a) remembered my cell phone and b) it was actually charged up and c)I could get reception where I was at.
The woman I was interviewing very kindly turned me back onto the right road. The whole interview ended up being a blessing. The stories behind the grave stones are really fascinating. I really enjoyed walking through the cemetary with her, as she pointed things out to me, and it was refreshing listening to her passion to make sure these people who died a long time ago are not completely forgotten.
the best thing about the interview was that it gave me a new perspective on my "difficult day." As I stood in the late afternoon sunshine - it was a gorgeous day with unusually warm temps of close to 70 - my problems seemed very minor compared to a lot of the people that were buried under my feet.
It was truly shocking to see the number of babies, toddlers and young children that died. Both of my boys are healthy, and I take for granted that they will live to adulthood. Most of the people in that cemetary could not have said the same.
There were numerous women who died at very young ages - presumably in childbirth. I had a team of doctors and the whole force of modern medicine, so giving birth to my boys was exciting and joyful - not full of the fear of death. Back in the 1800's, nearly in 1 in 3 women died in childbirth. I would not have liked those odds if I lived back then.
So my conclusion at the end of my extra day this year was that I had a lot for which to be thankful. It was definitely a different perspective than I had at the beginning of the day!
Oh and my computer eventually turned back on, so all that angst was for nothing (which is usually the case).
What blessings has God given you?
~ Blessings, Bronte
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