The one with a fish leaf and smiling bicycle
Another way to dance in the rain!
One morning a few months ago, I was gearing up for a productive day. I had someone coming to watch Jamie for 4 hours - so great!! - and planned to write, do a little shopping, fill out doctor forms, prepare a care guide for Jamie since we have some outings coming up, maybe even order a holiday card I wanted to do?! It was going to be a great day!
I woke early with Jamie and immediately felt a little off. I got Jamie up, changed, and fed, trying to move through the morning business as usual. But I couldn’t totally ignore this hangover, achy, blah feeling. Nothing worse than feeling hungover when you haven’t had a drink in over a week. Preggo friends, sober curious friends, anyone taking a break from drinking - am I right?!
We continued about our normal morning routine, playing and then proceeding downstairs to get the day going. I placed Jamie in his activity center while I made breakfast. I’d usually boil a kettle of water along with my breakfast, but, along with my hangover that morning, I felt a very strong repulse to my usual tea (Earl Gray with honey and almond milk). Odd.
I finished my breakfast, read a few books with Jamie, and, before ya know it, it was nap time again! Ah, the life of a five month old.
Once Jamie was down for his nap, our sitter arrived and I took Monty for a walk outside. My hangover loomed. I kept talking myself out of it, “you’re fine, it’s in your head”. Towards the end of my walk I felt slow and I was seriously doubting my abilities to get through the productive day I envisioned.
It felt like I was walking through water. I put my head down, one step at a time. Out of the corner of my eye, through my brain fog, I spotted something funny looking on the sidewalk. I kept walking. After a few paces, I turned around and went back to give it a second glance. It was a leaf that looked just like a fish! I smiled and laughed quietly to myself. It was just the little thing I needed to finish up my walk and keep moving.
Sadly, no happy ending here. I ended the day with the stomach bug and stayed in bed for 24 hours. I definitely didn’t have the productive day I hoped or planned for, but at least I have this cute photo of a fishie leaf to remind me that sometimes little things pop out of nowhere to cheer us up!
Do you ever see things out in the world that make you smile, no matter your state of mind? I feel like this is the visual pairing to Gabby’s Dancing In The Rain post a while back. We should be able to have a crappy day, but still find joy from the small things around us. Sometimes that’s the best way to turn a day around - crack a smile from something distracting.