Arduous or Awesome?
It took 2.5 hours in a local department store.
Seriously. 150 minutes of running from one part of the store to another, all in an effort to secure complimentary clothing for our bi-annual family portrait session. In a fairly uncharacteristic move, I’d left this chore to the day before the shoot. Nice. Must have something to do with how much I deplore shopping.
To coordinate clothing for five different bodies and tastes doesn’t seem like it should be that difficult. It’s not like there are 12 of us or anything.
Apparently, I am wrong about this.
- Exhibit A: Teenage daughter #1 would like to wear a completely different style than anyone else. Dressy. (Whaaaat?)
- Exhibit B: Teenage daughter #2 has legs that fit into junior sizing for length, but needs the waistband of an 8-year-old.
- Exhibit C: The available color palate for boys clothing doesn’t remotely resemble that of what’s in stock in the girls’ section.
- Exhibit D: Husband, out of town until hours before the shoot, gets no vote and no opportunity to try his clothing on.
- Exhibit E: At this point, just find anything that works — whether it’s flattering on me or not. Everybody knows mom’s the afterthought. Just get me out of here. STAT.
I probably dropped a full clothing size due to the sheer number of calories burned on my laps around the store. (Which have all been subsequently offset by the amount of chocolate consumed as post-retail therapy.) I got more and more frustrated with each iteration. My feet hurt. The cost was catapulting.
Pessimist: We will never again see the light of day. Our photos will be awful (because if our outfits don’t look like the families on Pinterest, we will have failed, right?).
I eventually cried uncle. Good enough. We made our way to the register and paid. Stepping outside the door, I nearly kissed the ground I was so thankful to be done with this arduous task. We piled in the car and made tracks for home.
From the back seat I hear:
That was awesome. I’m so glad we spent the afternoon together.
Didn’t see that coming. But, boy, didn’t my gal offer me a different way to look at our afternoon’s escapades? Awesome instead of arduous.
Optimist: Even if it takes longer than anticipated, we’re together and can consider this an adventure we’re sharing. The photos (let alone the outfits) aren’t nearly as important as our shared experiences.
[Tweet “Let someone else reframe your experiences when you can’t see the positive. #thinkonthesethings #write31days”]
Have you ever had someone completely reframe an experience for you? I’d love to hear about it!
This post is part of a 31 day series entitled “Think on these things: Learning optimism.” For a full catalog of all the posts, visit the first page in the series by clicking here.
It’s so easy to look at a situation negatively. For me my families journey of mental illness has been hard but I’ve had friends remind me of how our story can be a blessing to others. Wow it really does make a difference when someone changes the perspective for us! 🙂
Tara, your point about our stories blessing others is exactly why my site is named what it is — out of Romans 8:28. God works it all together for those who love Him (and that “those” is plural/collective, so it’s worked together for and in the Body). Thanks for being such a faithful reader and commenter, and for yielding your story to Him.
It’s so easy to look at a situation negatively. For me my families journey of mental illness has been hard but I’ve had friends remind me of how our story can be a blessing to others. Wow it really does make a difference when someone changes the perspective for us! 🙂
It’s so easy to look at a situation negatively. For me my families journey of mental illness has been hard but I’ve had friends remind me of how our story can be a blessing to others. Wow it really does make a difference when someone changes the perspective for us! 🙂
Tara, your point about our stories blessing others is exactly why my site is named what it is — out of Romans 8:28. God works it all together for those who love Him (and that “those” is plural/collective, so it’s worked together for and in the Body). Thanks for being such a faithful reader and commenter, and for yielding your story to Him.
I loved this post, Kirsten! It made me smile and remember trying to get 4 BOYS excited about pictures and forcing them to actually comb a.k.a. style their hair! Let alone put on something that would “represent” us well! I have learned over the years to be present in the moment of each time I’m together with my family. Unfortunately, more recently than in those harried years. But, your child captured it well. I
actually had one of my boys “exhort” me in the car once as I was stressing out loud as we were late…he told me I was making him stress and he had nothing to stress about! I learned through him, to enjoy our car time and if we’re late, we’re late! At least we enjoyed our “lateness”‘ together! 🙂
I loved this post, Kirsten! It made me smile and remember trying to get 4 BOYS excited about pictures and forcing them to actually comb a.k.a. style their hair! Let alone put on something that would “represent” us well! I have learned over the years to be present in the moment of each time I’m together with my family. Unfortunately, more recently than in those harried years. But, your child captured it well. I
actually had one of my boys “exhort” me in the car once as I was stressing out loud as we were late…he told me I was making him stress and he had nothing to stress about! I learned through him, to enjoy our car time and if we’re late, we’re late! At least we enjoyed our “lateness”‘ together! 🙂
I loved this post, Kirsten! It made me smile and remember trying to get 4 BOYS excited about pictures and forcing them to actually comb a.k.a. style their hair! Let alone put on something that would “represent” us well! I have learned over the years to be present in the moment of each time I’m together with my family. Unfortunately, more recently than in those harried years. But, your child captured it well. I
actually had one of my boys “exhort” me in the car once as I was stressing out loud as we were late…he told me I was making him stress and he had nothing to stress about! I learned through him, to enjoy our car time and if we’re late, we’re late! At least we enjoyed our “lateness”‘ together! 🙂
[…] Sleeping on it In the silence Lovely /ˈləvlē/ No need to read between the lines List Limitations Arduous or Awesome? Quotable Admirable /adm(ə)rəb(ə)l/ Upside of […]
[…] Sleeping on it In the silence Lovely /ˈləvlē/ No need to read between the lines List Limitations Arduous or Awesome? Quotable Admirable /adm(ə)rəb(ə)l/ Upside of […]
[…] Sleeping on it In the silence Lovely /ˈləvlē/ No need to read between the lines List Limitations Arduous or Awesome? Quotable Admirable /adm(ə)rəb(ə)l/ Upside of […]