The Zoo? Riiiight!!

So on the calendar for today, we were supposed to go downtown to visit the zoo (after all, it is zoo month and it’s Twilight Thursdays). Well, after my husband’s 4th night in a row of getting home after 7:15, mom did NOT feel up to that! Plus, I had a boxing groupon I was hoping to use scheduled at 7:10pm (let’s face it ladies…this baby weight doesn’t just go away by itself! Okay you who fall into that group, I DON’T want to hear it from you!!). I was SO hoping to go that I resolved to have dinner on the table and both children bathed so hubby could just waltz in the door and enjoy the evening with them while I went to my boxing class. This is exactly what happened, fairytale kisses on my way out the door, boxing wraps in hand. I decided on pasta for dinner, easy peasy, right? Oh wait, no pasta sauce! Hooray, neighbor to the rescue! And trying to get the kids bathed? Yeah, my 2 year old decides he wants to scream and cry at every given turn throughout bath time. *sigh* 

Well, when hubby still hadn’t called to say he was on his way home at 7 o’clock, I realized boxing was NOT happening (his commute is about 25 minutes).

At this point, I had 2 options. Pardon my french, but

Option #1: Get pissed and have a horrible evening, dwelling in self pity that my husband works such long hours and I never get to do ANYTHING I want to do!

OR

Option #2: Be thankful that my husband is committed to serving people in his line of work, and 90% of the time, LOVES what he does AND…turn the evening around so that I could enjoy what was left with my kids.

I’m proud to say that I chose Option #2. HOWEVER, allow me to preface that “pride” with 2 notes. First, I called the gym, and they said it was NO big deal and I could show up any day I wanted. (phew – what a relief).

Second, and for those of you that are not “spiritual”, feel free to disregard this, but I cannot deny it! I’m a Christian, and one of the fruits of the Spirit is peace. I’ve got to chalk it up to the Spirit on this one! It was Him that gave me peace! Particularly regarding this aspect of the evening…

So, I had decided to have a happy attitude for the evening. I finally called my husband at 7:10 to find out where he was. Guess what? He was about a block away, I probably could’ve made it to boxing! When he came strolling in the door and saw me bathing the kids, he cocked his head in a confused manner.

I patiently said, “I was trying to have them ready for you so I could go to boxing, but I realized tonight was not a good night.”

He said, “Oh. Thank you.” in the most sincere voice ever! I was so glad that I remained calm and didn’t chew him out, which was my first thought as the evening began to go awry, which wouldn’t have accomplished anything good, right?

So, my life lesson to you is…take a deep breath when things seem to be going…umm…to put it delicately, not your way, and make a CHOICE to turn things around. Yeah, things might not have gone as you’d hoped or planned, but they can still be pleasant, but it IS a choice. What are you going to choose next time?

June 23rd, 2010