Make Lemonade!
When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.
I’m an optimist. Sometimes, the way I spin things to the positive even annoys me. But, it’s my nature and I mostly see the glass as half-full.
This quality has been very helpful to me, especially as a single parent. There are times, however, that no matter how much I try to change my expectations, how hard I look for the silver lining, how I reflect upon a situation to see a lesson in it, life just plain ol’ stinks.
And, since Easter Sunday, my life has been odoriferous!
I knew I wouldn’t have the girls Easter Sunday, again. I arranged with their father to see them Sunday afternoon and although it’s not what I wanted, I accepted the situation and ended up having a wonderful day of mass, tennis, brunch with friends, and a lovely walk with friends for hours at Piedmont Park, and Starbucks in the sunshine. I got lemons, I made lemonade.
Then, as the day waned, I noticed I didn’t get the “We’re on the road” call. So I called. They got a late start. Traffic on the highway. Blah, blah, blah. Okay, more lemons, I’ll make more lemonade.
So, I made a wonderful steak dinner and got all dolled up in my Easter dress. I welcomed the girls when they arrived and we immediately sat down to dinner. Yummy, refreshing lemonade…
My youngest started crying as soon as she saw dinner. “I want Chick-fil-A!” She whined. I ignored her. I kept talking as if she wasn’t ruining my dinner. After a while, my oldest started crying. I asked why. She said “Don’t talk to me!” I placed my napkin on my plate and simply said t “Happy Easter” and then I walked into my bedroom, got on my pajamas, and cried.
Dramatic? Yes. But it was sincere. I didn’t want to yell. I had no partner sitting at the table reminding my children to thank me for preparing an Easter meal. I had no partner backing me up, supporting me, helping me deal with the girls’ emotions. I was all alone and sometimes, it’s just too much.
On this occasion, no matter how much sugar I put in my lemonade it just wouldn’t taste good. I won’t let that discourage me from trying again. Remember? I’m an optimist. So, when I reviewed the day, I realized that maybe it wasn’t me. I think the lemons were rotten. Very rotten. Rotten from spending 4 days with no discipline, loads of sugar, older cousins, and missing Mommy on a very important holiday.
When two broken hearts spend a few days like that, they get rotten. The good news is, as Easter represents, there is life after death. Those rotten lemons are buried and will nurture the earth. The seeds will sprout and then there’s a tree and lemons will ripen and fall. It’s life, after all, and we all get another chance to make lemonade.
