when the days are hard

 

Happy Thursday, friends! I thought I'd talk a little about my Tuesday, how the day went, what set me off, how I handled it, and a podcast I listened to twenty-four hours after the fact. 

Do you ever have those days when you wake up and you just know it's going to a day? I woke up knowing this Tuesday morning, and sure enough, I was right. I can't really explain why I had this kind of a day; can any of us ever really explain something like this? I'm partially blaming the time of year that it is and a lack of good sleep at night. I was feeling emotional, vulnerable, and needy all day long. I cried a lot, I got hugs from people at work, I had a teary phone call with Marilyn, and I eventually came home and took a nap. When all else fails, right?? 

I have a few things I do when I'm having a day like this. I'd love to know how you handle your bad days at the bottom of this post, so comment and tell me all of your ways. 

• I listened to my Bible, even though I wasn't necessarily "feeling it" that morning.
• I turned on worship music.
• I prayed, but my prayers were of the variety that were a whisper through tears, "Lord, You know my heart. I need You to draw me close."
• I accepted hugs from the people who offered them.
• I wrote a lot in my journal.
• I drank water and had a snack, in the hopes that it was a blood sugar issue; it wasn't. 🤣
• I talked on the phone with Marilyn for at least a half hour and heeded her wise counsel.
• I reached out to my friend Christa to see if she was free to meet me that night; she was!
• I took a nap when I got home.
• I let Chloe be my emotional support dog, little love that she is.
• I finished a blog post for the next day.
• I enjoyed some retail therapy with Christa that night when we met, and was completely candid with her as to why I was struggling so much. She offered to come home with me! I assured that I was okay, though, and had plans to shower and read in bed after.
• I did just that: I took a cool shower, washed my hair, and read in bed for an hour.

Ironically, yesterday I listened to that podcast I mentioned, and it was similar to what I'd experienced the day before! I wasn't necessarily just in a bad mood, but I was just having a hard day. It was interesting hearing her offer suggestions of things to do to combat that kind of a mood, knowing these were things I actually put into practice yesterday. I'll share them below.

Why do I never journal anymore? This is me doing that as often as possible, moving forward.

Here are the podcast notes that I talked about.

7 Things to remember when handling a bad mood

1. It starts with me. I can choose how I respond to someone's bad mood. Who am I going to be when I'm in a bad mood? What about when it's someone else who's in a bad mood? How will I respond to them?

2. Stress needs a way out! Ways we can move the stress out of our bodies: 

• move your body
• pray
• breathe
• laugh
• hug someone
• create

3. Kindness is hard. It's not only hard, it's impossible sometimes. This is when we need to rely on the power of the Holy Spirit. 

4. The basics help! Am I hungry? Am I thirsty? Am I uncomfortable? Disconnected? Recognizing this in myself or others helps us to extend patience to them if it's them that are the ones in a bad mood. 

5. Change the scenery. Even if this is something you have to force yourself to do, it's a good thing in the end. Things you can do to accomplish this are playing music, going to get a fun drink (Sonic), get quiet, or redirect your thoughts.

6. Be nostalgic! She equated this one with being irritated with your kids; scrolling through old pictures of them when they were innocent and cute is helpful when you want to smack them. 🤣

7. Remember that we're all practicing. 

(I didn't buy this, but I snorted, I laughed so hard, because I need this in my life!)

This is my Christa. I'm so thankful for her friendship!

Do you have anything to add to this list of things? I'd love to hear them! Thanks for reading today, friends. Love to all!

Jenn ❤️