On the Brighter Side: A No Day
On the Brighter Side: A No Day
I asked my granddaughter a while back, how was school today? She immediately let me know, “It was a NO Day!”
“What?!” I emphatically replied. “I don’t believe I know what that even means?”
“Well . . . literally, a No Day means everyone tells you NO and it is not fun!”
No Days certainly can unexpectedly turn our temperaments upside down. Otherwords, a NO Day means, nothing is going my way! Max Lucado tells the story of Chippie the Parakeet that certainly illustrates how we often feel when we are hit by a whirlwind of no’s and experience the what is happening???, kind of day!
Chipper was a parakeet that was well loved and cared for. This parakeet had the good life. Loving owner, clean cage, food always, a No Day was not in Chippie’s kind of vocabulary.
One day Chippie’s owner was trying to quickly clean the bottom of his cage with a vacuum cleaner – while she was on the phone. In a split second, the nozzle was too close, and suck – yep, that’s right, Chippie was gone.
In a panic, his devoted owner dropped the phone, unsnapped the vacuum and tore open the bag to find the poor bird covered in dirt and gasping for air.
Wait. It gets better.
To get the grime off, she rushed him to the sink and rinsed him off under the faucet. Seeing the bird was completely soaked and shivering, she immediately reached for her hair dryer to warm this little fowl up. Chippie never knew what hit him.
When a friend asked how Chippie was doing a few days later, his owner replied, “Well, Chippie doesn’t sing much anymore. He just sits and stares.”
No Days are the “bumps” in our days. You know bumps that are completely unexpected and they keep popping up.
A few days ago my morning started off by almost getting smushed by a car, I know he was in the wrong lane. Then I walked into the Community Center and someone is using “my” elliptical! Doesn’t he know, that has been mine for up-teen years! I take off for a meeting and decide to wash the car. In the middle of the cycle the car wash STOPS! Ack! I’m going to be late, am I supposed to get out of the car and then I’ll be drenched! What is happening?! In a couple of seconds the car wash began. Phew, so glad I didn’t over react. On my way to my meeting I almost get smushed again! Why does everyone keep getting in the wrong lane?!
Judith Viorst in her children’s book, Alexander and The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, tells when Alexander went to lunch, his friend Philip Parker’s lunch bag had 2 cupcakes.Albert got a Hershey bar with almonds and Paul’s mother gave him a piece of jelly roll that had little coconut sprinkles on the top. Guess whose mother forgot to put in dessert?
Yes, for sure No Days are hard and they come to each of us, young and old and even to parakeets.
I read on line the other day that it would be nice if someone would just hug me and say, “I know it’s hard. You’re going to be okay. Here is chocolate and 6 million dollars.”
But the reality is – that is not going to happen. What is a person to do?
How about laughing? We can laugh out loud, chuckle to yourself, or maybe even begin with a grin. That’s why I love Jim Gaffigan. He takes those simple, crazy, wild, self-inflicted days and laughs at himself. The “experts” say that laughter is associated with stress relief. I’m all about that!
There are no answers when you have a No Day that aren’t bump-proof. The next time a No Day comes around, go for the laughter. Then I suggest go to Haven for a treat, catch your breath and smile while enjoying a good cup of coffee!
Susan Baker is a columnist for The Maryville Forum.
