Mondays. Can. Be. A. _____. I should have known Monday was going to be one of those days. We woke to a 4.9 earthquake at 6:35a.m. The epicenter was close and we were jolted out of bed -- before my eyes were completely open -- with the Boss telling me to head to the front of the house. All the excitement was over before we made the twenty steps to the front door, but my adrenaline was pumping. You see, we've shared at least five earthquake experiences above 4.5 on the Richter scale and not one of them has been a walk in the park for me. The noise the earth makes while the house or skyscraper either shakes like it's being hit over and over by a truck or rolls like an angry ocean wave -- in our first earthquake we watched the cat, claws dug into the rug and fur standing straight up, hang on under the dining room table as the floor rolled from one door to the other -- followed by a suspended moment of silence create a malicious sense of physical and emotional uncertainty for me. I don't like uncertainty. Mondays. Can. Be. A. __________. A Bit of Earth Rattling Should be Enough for a Monday The Boss knows how I react to the the ground moving when it shouldn't and decided to calm me down with a story about Princess Ruth Ke'elikolani sacrificing red silk handkerchiefs and a bottle of brandy to Pele, as well as sleeping in front of the lava flow threatening Hilo in 1880. The saga goes that the eight-month lava flow which plunged property values to 1/10th of their value -- Hilo was a major trade port at the time -- was stopped by Princess Ke'elikolani asking Pele, that if she had any aloha for the Princess, to return to her mountain; the next morning the lava was hard with no sign of a molten flow. Really?! Storytelling about a lava flow after an earthquake on an island created by active volcanoes -- not helpful, sweetie. But Monday did not stop there. Oh, no. You'd think a bit of earth rattling and alarming stories should be enough for a Monday! Your Imagination Cannot be Far Off One way I get over physical and emotional uncertainty is to attack the day or moment with routine. Ground-shaking events are not going to keep me from eating a normal breakfast, tidying up the house, laundry, watching an episode of Perry Mason at lunch, and tackling the mound of old coconuts in the back yard! Routine, routine, routine is calming, centering. And I was beginning to breathe easier as the day progressed. It's the coconuts which did me in -- well, the fire ants in the coconuts, really. Do you know that some fire ants are so small you can almost not see them? Guess which ones are in our yard. The Boss ran into these teeny enemies a few times working on the back lanai and he welts up with angry balloon marks where ever the ants sting. The stings itch and burn at the same time -- distressingly painful. We were headed to the Hilo Greenwaste Transfer Station -- aka the eco-dump -- with the back of the Pilot holding a second load of ancient coconuts when it started. A small annoyance just under the edge of my t-shirt sleeve -- it felt a bit like an irritating loose thread which I couldn't find. Once we were pulling the coconuts out of the SUV the ants were inside my bra. Yes. And it was no longer just irritating. I couldn't haul out the debris because I couldn't think of anything other than -- well, your imagination cannot be far from what I was experiencing! A Perfect Antidote I am so thankful the Boss knew just what to do -- a quick trip to Target for baking soda and topical Benadryl helped with the 30-minute drive home. And, once we were home, I smeared the Caladryl like it was on tap. It's okay to laugh. As the Caladryl dried, I sent a text to my daughters letting them know I was dieing and why. Their responses included the appropriate sympathy, if colored with humor. Which is exactly what I needed - a good laugh. When Pele tosses you out of bed first thing in the morning and the fire ants are in your underwear what else can you do? Laughter. And lots of it. The perfect antidote to a Monday out of control. I hope you know what works for you whenever a Monday or any other day is out of control. Whether its doubling down on routine, a good dose of laughter, eating scads of chocolate or a long talk with your best friend -- or prayer and meditation -- using your antidote to whatever Monday brings is a game changer. My laughter didn't make a difference to Pele or to the fire ants, but it did help me! With much prayer & love,
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Nonna's Thoughts are for busy parents who are looking for practical knowledge, and a bit of laughter, in growing strong, joyful families.
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