Hello dear readers. Yes, I have stolen the title of today’s blog from the delightful children’s book by Judith Viorst, ‘Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good Very Bad Day’. It is a favourite of mine and one I haul out every now and then to use at a Children’s Time. The children and the adults alike enjoy it because we can all relate to poor Alexander during his day when everything goes wrong. If you don’t know the story it is about a young boy, Alexander, who has catastrophe after catastrophe throughout his day. Well, they feel like catastrophes to him and when ever something happens he announces that he is going to move to Australia where, he is sure, nothing ever goes wrong.
I could relate to poor old Alexander last week. I had a litany of problems … nothing major but enough to be irritating. The oven would not work and I had to bake for the Marketplace, the garage door stuck on open, I laundered my living room curtains and they fell apart in the wash, my land line and internet quite working, and I was late getting my snow tires on given the early arrival of winter. With every thing that went wrong I moaned and groaned about my terrible bad luck. But on my 12th, or maybe 27th relating of my woeful situation it hit me. What was I thinking? Good grief! I had an oven and the wherewithal to call a repairman. I had a washing machine in which to do my laundry. I had a garage to store the car I own and I had winter tires ready to be put on that car. Not only that, I had enough money in my bank account to pay for all the repairs and replacements required. And I had friends to listen to me moan and complain. I was not having a terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad week. I was being reminded of how many blessings I have in my life that I just take for granted.
Sometimes life grabs us by the collar and says, “Look around! Look at all you have going for you. Stop your complaining – your life is full of goodness and riches beyond measuring.” Sometimes it is a good thing to have a bad day as it helps us take notice of how many blessings abound in every day.
Dad had a sermon he recycled most of one summer titled ‘The Privilege of Living’. I’m sure it’s a chapter in some book of his. The quote came from an elderly store keeper who when asked by younger tired guys in the next shop at the end of one long day ‘what makes you so cheerful?’
‘One is never tired so long as one is heartily aware of the privilege of living.’
Never having what we want and never wanting what we have. Yes, we can be very ungrateful creatures at times. Thanks for the reminder that if all we have are small annoyances, then we are having a great day in the fact we are able to grumble & complain. Need to be more like my dog, who exists, lives, loves and in the moment. Simple joys are always the best.