Life's Mundane Moments Are Just That

Say what now? 

When are you at your worst?  I'll admit it; I'm a control freak…a persistent planner, tethered to the ties my Google Calendars.  So, my crazy face (literally and mentally) usually comes out during life's little hiccups.  I know it's still early, but this week I've already had a few instances that irked me to no end.  The first, when I was hungry.  The second, when I received back talk.


My daily diet rivals that of any good elementary schooler.  Peanut butter sandwiches and Cheerios are my two favorite fixings.  And, I literally can't go more than a few days without indulging in one of my "delicacies."  In an attempt to adultify my cereal though, I usually do add some fresh fruit slices.  Anyways, I went to the grocery store Sunday night, and all the bananas were lime green, not the slightest hint of yellow in sight.  I stood in the produce section for a good five minutes just staring at the bananas.  Finally, I realized my death glare wasn't going to make the bananas brown any faster and settled for strawberries instead.

Then, yesterday morning I was attempting to ask a few questions about our high school's testing calendar and the person I'd been instructed to see retorted back with a "that's not my job."   Literally, that's my least favorite phrase!  Her mood instantly changed mine.  The smile on my face vanished, and my answers clipped to just "yes" or "no" responses.  I couldn't get off the phone fast enough.  Let me clarify a few things here; I'm new to my current post, having only officially received the position in November, so this is my first go around (not as a student) with CRCTs and End of Course Testing.  So, when this 15+ year veteran brushed me off I actually had to bite my tongue.  My mind just kept wandering to education majors I graduated with that are still without full-time positions.  I kept imagining how they'd respond given the same situation, each time assigning them the role of a super hero teacher that never raises their voice and always stays past dismissal time.  Despite our initial dilemmas though, she did eventually direct me to someone else who could help, and I got the whole thing sorted out. 

So, what's the real point of these stories?

It's sad really; in the grand scheme of things, they're both so inconsequential.  I had to have strawberries instead of bananas.  So what?  It may not have been what I originally wanted, but I'm blessed in having the ability to drive my car to the grocery store, pick through a stocked produce section, and have the means to pay for my meal.  And as for the back talk, I'm sure she was just stressed with the day-in and day-out dramas of teaching kiddos.  I know I would be.  And, more than her sassy response, I'm embarrassed with my own.  As a whole, I don't consider myself to be an awful person, but clearly, I can behave like one…I wouldn't want to be judged by my worst hours, so maybe I should extend the same courtesy to others too. 

Don't sweat small stuff.  I've heard those four simple words more times than I can count, but it's finally time I take an added effort in practicing what's been preached.  I've got to realize life's mundane moments are just that, mundane.  Then, maybe the number of hours I spend as my worst self will be far and few between, even if my crazy face doesn't completely disappear.