Smiling through the racket

Each day brings challenges. I woke up to a jackhammer chewing through my neighbor's driveway and the dogs thinking it's a pentameter they should bark to in time. How long does it take to get through one square foot of concrete, anyway? Apparently quite a while. Such an unexpected disturbance six months ago would have determined my mood for the day, but now I try to turn it around and consider how it might offer opportunities for seeing life differently. I had lots to do today. Unlike a snooze alarm you can't really tune out a jackhammer or turn it off, so I'm up and ready for the day!

Then, a book sent to Spain two months ago reportedly hasn't shown up, and the person wants their money back. I saw this one coming. I sent the book against my better judgment, because if there are two places in Europe that you do not want to send items through the mail, it's Spain and Italy. Does this surprise anyone? If so, it shouldn't. Their post offices are so ramshackle I doubt half the items sent there will ever make it, or, at least, your customers will claim they did not make it and ask for their money back. Many are well aware how bad their post offices are, and the refund policies of international payment agencies like Paypal. As it turns out, though, it's no big deal. I thought it was an expensive book but when I looked it up, not so much. Therefore, lesson learned, I got off light and next time will simply refuse to ship the book. A cheap price to confirm a business policy.

Meanwhile, although still tired from a long day on Thursday, I came away with a new outlook on having friends, on getting back to the gym and working out, and generally on pushing through fatigue to accomplish things that last year at this time I would have simply let slide. Like so many others I had been programmed into a sedentary lifestyle that was impossible to see when living through it, and hard to understand looking back on it. So glad that's over!

And the last little nugget of a reason to smile today? It's less than a month until Spring!