Day Twenty-Six: Doing What You Can With What You Have

Today was another Saturday of marching band- only today, I got to sleep in until around 9ish and was back home at 12:30.

Unfortunately, even with the later start then last week, I woke up to a cold morning.  Under my band uniform was Under Armor tights, thick socks, and a thin T-shirt that was begging to become a full-out winter jacket.  In fact, my band director told me that when she got up today it was only 25 degrees!  And, as the day got later, it didn’t get much better- as I’m typing this, it is 47 degrees outside.

The best thing about our band director is that she lets us wear gloves.  I’m very glad- I was scared that my poor fingertips would freeze to my flute!  My gloves are the kind with the tips cut off, so you can see the top of your fingers.  They even have a magnetic flap that can unstick to wrap around your peeping fingertips like mittens.

Anyway, just before the parade my band director went around to all of the clarinets and told them that they can’t properly play with full gloves on.  I felt bad for them- having cold fingers won’t hurt them (the weather wasn’t THAT bad and it was only for a few blocks) but it sure won’t feel good!  As my band director got to a young clarinet player in my line to collect her gloves, I went over to them.

“Can she have my gloves?  They have the fingertips cut out.”

“That works for me,” said the band director “Do you want to switch gloves with Shay?”

The young clarinet player agreed, and we quickly switched gloves.

"Do what you can

with what you have

where you are.”

I’m not sure who said that quote, but I saw it on Pinterest once and it is the basis of today’s positive act.  I took what I had and did what I could with it.  Yes, I wish I could have helped all the clarinet players, but I didn’t have that many gloves!  

I think that this is a quote that we should live by.  We shouldn’t stress about things we can’t change. 

We should use what we have in this moment.

Day Twenty-Five: The Power of Words

Today, my positive acts started and ended my day.

First, when I got to school, I noticed one of my classmates was home sick.  A flashback of yesterday, 2^nd period, popped into my head- he didn’t look very healthy!

So, I thought I would make his day a little brighter!  I sent him a “get well soon” text message!  I wanted to do more, like send a picture of my beautiful shinning face or call him with a bunch of friends and put him on speaker phone.  Sadly, however, the first bell had rung, and I was in No-Cell-Phone territory!

The next positive act I want to tell you about was also in the form of words.  While I working as a waitress tonight, I noticed that a coworker of mine wasn’t his happy self.  I decided to get down to the bottom of it.

“May I ask you a personal question?”  I asked him as I scooped butter into portion cups.

“Sure” he replied.

“Is something wrong?  You seem kind of ticked off.”

“It’s just been one of those nights.”

I wanted to ask him a little bit more about it- see if there was any way I could make him feel better- but someone started talking to him about his table and he walked away.

I thought about that statement.  “It’s just been one of those nights.”  We’ve all had nights like that.  You are just ready for them to be over, so you can climb into your nice comfy bed and wake up to a better day. (They say the bridge between hope and despair is a good night’s sleep, you know.)

So, while I was walking to my car at the end of the night, I looked at this guy with the off day and said,

“Have a better day tomorrow, okay?"

He just nodded and said,

“I will.”

And he will.  I guarantee it.

Day Twenty-Four: A Good Morning, a Poster, and a Ride Home

Today I said “good morning” to three people, I don’t normally say “good morning” to.  I know, I know.  What a small, insignificant detail of my day- but think about it!  Saying good morning to someone means that you are acknowledging their presence.  You are showing them that they are important enough to be recognized.  

J

In August, a nearby town put on a play called “Footloose.”  Posters were tacked up all over the town.  When it was time to tear down the posters, my manager handed one to me.  He knows that cool little things like that make me really happy!

I was so pumped to have this poster!  I even worked with one of the actors!  I planned on having him sign the poster, then taping it to my wall in my bedroom.

I told one of my friends this plan.  She told me that she absolutely ADORED Footloose.  And at that moment, my wheels started turning.

Before I even started this blog, I wanted to have the actor that I work with sign it and give it to my friend.  She’d like it ten times more than I would- I haven’t even seen Footloose!  But sadly, the actor that I worked with quit.  And I haven’t seen him since.  So the poster has been sitting in my car since I got it.

Today, the same friend that loves Footloose needed a ride home.  I could have easily said no. I didn’t want to give her a ride home!  I wanted to go home and catch up on my beauty sleep.  But, when I have to make decisions like this, I always ask myself what I would want if I was in their shoes.  I ended up giving her a ride.

She lives quite a ways out of town, but I didn’t mind.  It made me feel good knowing that I was doing something for her.

And right before she got out of the car, I gave her the Footloose poster.

J

Day Twenty-Four: Respecting my Mother

Not many people know this, but I have family trouble.  The past year, specifically, has been really hard for me.  And boy!  The rumors I hear about my family just make everything harder.

I find that sometimes, anger gets build up inside of me.  And the person I take it out on the most is my mom.

Anything and everything about her ticks me off when I’m in that “let me be angry” stage.  And I know that it makes her really upset.  She only has one more year with her little girl before I leave for college and she’s on her own.

Today, for my positive act, I tried to respect her.  When I get in those angry stages, I just slam her with insults.  I can’t believe how disrespectful, ungrateful, and spiteful I get sometimes.  I know I need to change and treat her with value- because she is worth so much.

My mom and I were stuck in a car today for about an hour to get my senior pictures done.  I sincerely tried my best to be pleasant.  We talked like normal human beings instead of irate cats and dogs.  We laughed, debated about which lip and cheek color I should use for my photos, and, eventually, we even started singing to the radio together.

While I was getting my senior pictures taken I actually talked to my mother instead of ignoring her like I thought I would’ve.

And it felt good.

We are taught to treat others with respect, but we rarely think of our parents as people who also need to be respected.  Especially when a person is going through a hard time in the family.

I vow to make an effort to continue treating my mom with respect.

I want a stronger relationship with my mother.  Because, like I said…I only have one more year before I leave for college.