You know what, sometimes I want to put on Rod Stewart and cry my eyes out. Sometimes I want to watch General Hospital and shut out the world. Sometimes I want to get annoyed at the person who is putting up 45 selfies a day online. Sometimes I want to make excuses for myself and my children. Sometimes I want to look in the mirror and not like what I see. Sometimes I want to be negative and sulk a little. Sometimes I feel like gossiping. Sometimes I feel like rolling my eyes at the slow poke driving in front of me and there are times that I want to flip the bird. Sometimes I want to allow myself to feel.
And then sometimes I want to laugh so hard I cry. I want to face the world head on. I want to congratulate the people for putting up pictures of themselves for being so confident. Sometimes I will make no excuses. Sometimes I love what I see in myself. Sometimes I want to be positive and hopeful and happy. I don’t want to gossip. I give people the benefit of the doubt. Sometimes I will only see the positive in life and in people.
It all depends on so many different factors, sometimes they are outside factors and sometimes they are internal. Sometimes it is the mood or the weather. Perhaps someone said something to you that you can’t get over.
Sometimes it is just the way you feel. You cannot be positive all the time. Yes, you can look at the positives of life and yes you can overcome the negativity. But, sometimes it is ok to give in to the feelings you have and allow them to come into your life for a moment. And then move on. Oftentimes, it only takes a moment to release those excuses. Sometimes it takes the length of “Forever Young.” Sometimes I can watch Sonny and Carly’s daily spat on GH and feel better. Sometimes all I have to do is vent to a friend.
My point is that sometimes it is ok to feel what you are feeling. I look at my children and I am in awe of the fact that they feel what they feel in the moment. They can be on the floor crying about their lost doll in one minute and up spinning in happy circles the next. They allow themselves to feel it all and then shrug it off like nothing. I guess what we can learn from them is that sometimes it is ok to feel every emotion. We don’t need to pretend that we are ok with everything or that life is dandy all the time. You know what, sometimes it sucks. It’s ok. It isn’t always a thumbs-up and a wink. Sometimes it is a thumbs down and a nudge. That is the beauty of life. It gives us many different emotions to feel. And if we are smart enough and trust ourselves enough, it is ok to give in to those feelings at times, as long as we know that they are momentary. We can’t let them last. If we are aware of them, then they can’t control us.
My friend with a 9 month old told me they her baby keeps getting up at night now, every few hours. “What’s going on?” she asked me. “I don’t know,” I replied. “Perhaps he is teething. Maybe he just needs you. I’m not sure,” I said. “What I do know is that this is only a moment in time. It is only a stage. It will get better. It might suck now, but pretty soon this will be a distant memory. Just remember that when you are getting up at 3am.”
These things in life don’t last, whatever they are. Life is ever-changing, spongy. There will be great moments and then not so great moments. Break-ups, make-ups, job-loss, promotions, great friends, poor friends, crying babies, cooing babies; there will be days to embrace and days that we want to pull the covers over our head.
Nothing lasts and nothing controls you. Be you. Trust yourself and what you feel, as a parent, a friend, a daughter or son. Feel, accept, understand, and then move on. And if you aren’t sure, look to your child. They have all the answers.
~Noreen Heffernan,Writer, MA in Public and Corporate Communications, Certified in PR Writer, Growing Ladies