What Do You Do With a Downer Day?
I dunno. Every so often, a day–or series of days–comes along that just drags at a person. It’s been that way lately. My summer schedule is full to bursting. I’ve had to opt out of some paying work, and I feel like the family-and-community to-do lineup is a thousand miles long.
I suspect I’m turning into my mother. As I write this, my first inclination is to make a list. Take it all down to size, prioritize, tackle. I’m not the list person. She is. Problem is, listing it sometimes just clarifies the problems, not the solutions.
A long list of disappointments lately–a list that’s very clear in my mind–doesn’t help. I got a solid dose of the flaws in some of my family relationships. There’s the ongoing internal conflict in our church. We also just received a “no” from a potential pastor who had seemed to be all “yes” up till now. It was a financially costly “no” to the church, and we’re going to have to answer some angry questions. At times like this, the responsibilities of our young family, jobs, and even little things like home maintenance just get to be a weight, rather than the privilege they should be to the two of us.
So, what do you do with a “downer” day? Make a list? Stay in bed? Go into denial and eat chocolate? Tackle the future with both hands and feet?
I’m sure there’s an interesting range out there. Gimme your thoughts.
June 14th, 2008 at 10:53 am
When life overwhelms me, I prefer the shutdown mode. Ignore it all. Sort of, “Lalala, I can’t hear you, lalala.”
I know my answer is no solution to any kind of problem. It just makes it worse when I go back to it.
On the other hand, have you ever tried Prozac?
The only thing I’ve found that works if prayer and lots of it. I make a list, and through God’s leading, I start crossing things off. That helps a lot until I drop chocolate cake on it. Then, I have to start over.