But then I found this picture that I took early this morning, as we went back to the fish hatchery (for the second time this vacation) to throw pellets at trout. And I remembered: the day wasn't all bad.
The boys kept wanting everyone to hold hands. We fed the fish. We had our first family car wash experience. The boys "scored 8 points!" gleefully running around a whiffle ball field. Lucas and I had a lot of fun at the pool while Finley took his nap without waking up in the middle of it crying. I took a short nap with both boys cuddling up next to me. We had pizza for dinner. It was a good day.
Sometimes I'll ask Lucas how his day was and all he can remember is each time he cried that day and what triggered it. I hear his answer and immediately think, "Seriously? But there were so many good things! How can you only remember the two events that took up 15 minutes out of your entire day??" And I'll proceed to remind him of the picture he drew that he declared was the funniest ever or the hour he spent outside chasing the lawnmower or the games of follow the leader that left him out of breath with laughter.
He's 4 and I'm 33 and sometimes we're not so different. Sometimes we just need a reminder of what we've forgotten, that the good almost always outweighs the bad, and that it's up to us what we choose to focus on.
Tomorrow is a new day. A new day to choose joy. A new day to choose patience. A new day to choose gratitude.
Tomorrow is a new day, but really, today wasn't half bad.
