The Power of the Mind

Well, the trip to the MIL's went ok! It's amazing what a little positive thinking (and a lot of vodka) can do for perspective! The trip started off rocky. I got horrible carsickness. I actually snapped at SB a couple of times because she got really loud and I felt like the world was coming to an end. Usually when I get carsick I blame it on the man's driving. But this time, I think it was actually me. So we stopped and got some Dramamine. I hate taking medications, so you know if I gave in to the pill, it was serious. TB was very nice and tried to open the little package for me. It was the kind that has the little notch in the side, and by tearing at the notch you rip both the foil and the plastic. After about 5 minutes of waiting nicely and asking him to let me try, I grew impatient and took another one out of the packet and opened it. He got mad that now there was one all by itself- they were expensive so I better not lose it. My perception? He was mad it took me less time to open than him. So I didn't get mad at his frustration. Besides, I used the single on on the way back home the next day.

The meds made me drowsy. But pretty soon we were driving in this, and that kept me up. It was crazy, cars were pulled over to the side of the road for miles. This shot was taken (brilliantly) while the wipers were on full blast. We plunged through. My husband happens to be a weathergeek and knew that the band was going in the same direction that we were. So if we pulled over, then we'd just be following the storm. Or something like that. I wasn't really listening.

So we got to the MIL's around 7pm. This was good since there's nothing to do there and she doesn't have air conditioning. The rest of the weekend was actually fun. We went to the park in the morning and met up with my brother-in-law and his kids. Then we all went back to the MIL's where she put out the little pool and the kids splashed around while the adults watched and ate pizza and cake. Then we headed home where we napped before I mowed the lawn. Thrilling, eh?

The other interesting thing about this weekend is that I didn't work out at all. Yes, I took the weekend off. And I feel miserable. But my runs were regressing and my body was revolting so I decided I needed to hit the reset button. I don't really feel energized and refreshed today. In fact, I'm kind of tired and burnt out from the weekend. But this weekend taught me a lot about the power of positive thinking.

(insert feeble attempt at introspection and achieving new depth...HERE)

It's interesting how, when I see the MIL in my mind as an irritating control freak who thinks she knows better than I do about everything, that's how she acts. Yet when I see her as a loving grandmother who adores her granddaughter and wants to be part of the family, OMG- that's what she is. And when I see my husband as an irritating nerd who wants to bear Tiger Woods' children and nag me until I break, that's what he is. But when I look at him as a wonderful smart caring husband who unselfishly puts his family first and always does the right thing...lo and behold! That's what he is!

So then I think about my friends. And how much how I see them in my mind can alter my opinion of them. I have been disappointed by so many friends throughout my life. I'm sure that some of the times, they have been bad friends. But I think that some of the times, I just built them so high up in my mind that they failed to meet my expectations and that disappointed me. So now I'm going through life trying to look at my relationships very objectively so I'm not misled by high hopes.