Posted in 
Tags: 
There was a story I used to like to read to my girls when they were small.
It was called, “Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day”.
The story chronicled a day in the life of a little boy named Alexander.
As you may have already figured out, he was experiencing a really rotten day.
He would say to his mother, “This is a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. I think I’ll move to Australia.”
I tell you this for one very simple reason; I can really relate to Alexander today.
Though I can’t figure out exactly when the day entered the ‘suck zone’.
I’ll just say that it did and there was nothing I could do about it.
As adults, we put up with so much Rhinoshit (much larger and exceedingly rank than the traditional bullshit) in our daily lives that I am amazed that more of us aren’t in strait jackets boned up on Oxycontin and drooling at the mouth.
Ah, better living through pharmaceuticals, yes?
It’s a wonder people don’t ‘snap’ more than they already do.
From an angst-filled ride to work and numerous automated phone solicitations (Viva! Las Vegas!) to a bad night’s sleep and a poorly made cup of coffee, our little brains are constantly invaded by a perpetual wave of negativity that has a cumulative effect on the brain—well, my brain anyway.
I’m cynical by nature and have always seen the glass as half empty; it’s just my internal nuts and bolts, I guess. I chalk it up to my “creativity issues“.
I hear you say, “Oh, Michael, you’ve got to be more positive.”
Uh-huh.
And?
It’s hard, if not impossible, to feel positive when you just feel invisible.
Nothing seems to matter.
Maybe it has something to do with the fact that it’s Friday the 13th and my bio-rhythms have gone on vacation to Rio.
I’ll end up like I always do waiting the day out like a bad haircut and go to bed hoping that tomorrow things will look better.
And maybe they will…
At the end of Alexander’s story he finds himself at the end of his rope and says one more time to his mother, “I’m having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day and no one seems to care. I think I’ll move to Australia.”
His mother gives him a hug and says, “Somedays are like that…even in Australia.”
Sounds like a smart lady to me.
~m
i think we all have days like this michael know i do quite regularly…and there is no other cure than to wait it out….sleep sometimes helps so long as it’s a restful sleep and not filled with dreams..i tend to think about family or friends..and when all else fails there’s always drugs and drink
hope you’re feeling better soon
Thanks, ZN.
It’s just a phase. We all have days like this one.
I understand that I’m not alone and sometimes that helps.
No cry for help here, just my rambling mind…
Thanks for the warm thoughts.
~m
Big hugs, Michael.
Hope today goes better.
Actually, I wrote this last Friday on the train home and posted it last night using a ‘date stamp’.
Things have improved significantly.
Just a strange click on the wheel of life is all.
Thanks, Deb.
~m
I’m not going to be any help. I’m usually the one saying I’m having a rotten day and that I’m going to go stick my head in the oven. I hope your weekend got better. Here we are at Sunday afternoon already. Tomorrow…work. yay.
Made it to Sunday night.
Think I’m okay.
Thanks, Carn…
~m
Well, the sucky days should help us better appreciate the good days. I’m usually the annoying PollyAnna type, I’ll break my neck trying to find the good in any bad situation.
If not I say, “this too shall pass.” I think we all have triggers though, things that push our buttons and upset us no matter what. Most things don’t get under my skin, but personal interactions when someone slights me or does something I don’t think is honorable, gets me everytime! Glad you’re feeling better.
You are a very smart woman.
The bad days do help us appreciate the good…
~m
I didn’t even know it was Friday the 13th until after I had paid $125(cash only mind you, which I didn’t have so had to buy 4 packs of gum at the store, one pack at a time, because the cash back limit was $40 per transaction) to a locksmith who unlocked my van to retrieve the keys I had left safely on the seat to go shopping for two items the store was completely out of in the 1 hour I had available while my 10 year old was left with a brand new tutor in a city I’m completely unfamiliar with so had to ask directions to the store in the first place then tried to follow the directions back (after car thief turned locksmith/blackmailer lets me into my van with 15 minutes to spare) to pick up my daughter only to find myself 30 minutes later in a completely different city in the opposite direction and on the phone with the tutor enduring the humiliation of needing to be talked through going back the right way all while the 5 year old I have in tow this whole time is whining “Mommy, this is BORING!” and I’m repeating to myself “Don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t cry” and finally arriving 45 minutes late to grab kid #1 and race off to get to the next place late without the potluck dish I was supposed to bring. Only as I’m spreading out the one can of Pringles Potato chips that can I scrounge out of my purse on wheels/van on a plate as my contribution to the potluck does my oldest say, “Did you know this is Friday the 13th?” Australia was looking pretty good at that point
Well, I guess it never boils down to where you are, but a change of scene often does brighten you up and help to get you out of a rut you may find yourself in. Just getting away to a different environment can be refreshing, and you return with a new perspective. Your mom in Alexander’s story was right though, you’ll experience some bad times wherever you are. But I’m a firm believer that your life is what you make of it. Sometimes you just have to see yourself through the storms to find the sun again. I like Thomas Edison’s attitude in his quote: “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”
~ PG
Jeepers, I have some smart people that visit here.
Thanks, PG. . .
~m
Hey I can sympathise with the whole bad day thing, lord knows I’ve had my fair share lately, but sometimes there are reasons for them, sometimes they aren’t. Bad days are just bad days, and they are part of life just as much as good days are..we don’t sit and dwell on why we have those though do we?! Without dark, there is no light. Hope your out of the funk soon, nothing worse than a case of bad-day-itis that just won’t go away.
Cheers, Kelly
Just encountered too much grey in my day is all.
The funk has left the house…
~m
Michael – Sorry to say “Other Kelly” definitely had a better rotten day than you.
Wow! See?
You’re not alone.
Rotten days happen everywhere.
Even in Australia, dear…
~m
When my son was younger, this was his favorite story for me to read to him. Thanks for reminding me of it. I need to keep it handy for when I am having a terrible horrible no good very bad day.
It is a great story that transcends age.
Thanks for the comment, Fuzz.
~m
We’ve all had those kind of bad days where we want to run away. Frequently!
But Australia would be a nice get-away locale!
I’m due for a walkabout. . .
~m
I have a bad day story up, but I ended it with something funny, so maybe that will make you smile?
I’ll stop by, Marti.
~m