Not Every Day is Good, but There is Something Good in Every Day

This morning, I awoke with a pounding headache. Finding the motivation to leave my bed, pour a glass of water and take two Advil was an internal battle. My pessimistic self and my optimistic self had a contradictory conversation.

"No, stay in bed…you need to to rest your body, it feels too weak to walk downstairs." 

"But you will feel better if you take some medicine."

"But I can't…I can't move. My head…ugh, why me? Why today?"

"Suck it up, sister. You'll live and you'll be just fine…I promise." 

This banter continued until finally, I willed my head off my pillow and stumbled down the staircase to the refrigerator. I stretched my arms and squinted out at the window, a crushing pain still exuding from my skull. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping and the grass was greener than it was yesterday.

I proceeded to spend the next several hours horizontal, an ice pack across my eyes in a dark room, until the pain dwindled away. When I finally felt well enough to stand tall, I threw on some shorts and a tee-shirt and focused my attention to today's "to-do" list. It was past noon and I felt discouraged about facing the rest of my day.

"What's the point of following through with the rest of my plans? I've already missed out on the morning."

"But the rest of the day is yours, Shannon. You can still turn it around."

"Ugh. Sometimes you're just too optimistic."

"You don't really want to spend the rest of your day wallowing in self-pity, do you?"

"Well, no…I guess not."

"Then get movin', sister! Time is a tickin'!"

Though my body was politely asking me not to tackle every task on my "to-do" list today, I managed to make it to my volunteer site for an hour, a practice for middle schoolers who are training for their first 5k. I ran and walked alongside the kids throughout beautiful Columbus, talking about ice cream and candy and sweet summertime. The birds were chirping and the sun was shining. My face was smiling, and my heart was clapping for the first time all day. 

Though my day as a whole was not phenomenal, that one hour gave me something to smile about…and to have something to smile about today…well, that in itself is something to smile about.