Kink In Your Think?

The other night I was helping take down the last of the Christmas decorations, which basically consisted of the Charlie Brown tree Reed and I had bought for our first Christmas together. As I was taking it apart, I was struggling with the stand. I managed to get one of the three legs out without much trouble, but on leg two when I finally pulled it free, it scratched and bruised the palm of my hand. I had a goose egg building and as was natural I said "Ow-ee." Then I started to laugh at how I had hurt myself, and as only a girl could understand, the laughs turned into tears and I began to cry. I had a 180 degree flip in emotion. Oh, the joys of working through the grief cycle! The tears I had held in all through Christmas finally came out, all because Dad and Reed weren't there to pull that stupid tree stand apart and I had hurt myself trying to do what had been their job. At that realization, my mind went back to when I bashed my head under the stairs trying to pull out all of the Christmas decorations and the near concussion I had given myself. That just made me cry harder. Where was my dad when I needed him?!

Later that night as I was trying not to feel sorry for myself and the situation, I sat myself down in front of the television. To my delight, the Disney Pixar short films was on one of the channels so I started watching it. One of the first ones that came on was "Boundin". In Boundin', there is a sheep that dances around and has lots of friends. He gets carried away and shaved and put back, after which all his animal friends laugh at him because he's pink and fur-less. As he's sitting there feeling sorry for himself, a Jack-a-lope comes hopping by and stops to talk to him. As the sheep explains his predicament the Jackalope says, ". . . Now sometimes you're up, and sometimes your down. When you find that your down, well just look around. Ya still got a body, good legs and fine feet. Get your head in the right place and hey you're complete. . ."

For some reason that gave me a gentle reminder. I was fighting the sadness and discouragement, but it was creeping in. Who knew a rabbit with antlers could make so much sense?! I may not love my situation every minute of every day, but as long as I'm pushing to look around when I'm down, I'll be able to find something to help lift me up.

Grandpa Ray Johansen with my sisters & me

It's all a matter of where your mindset is. It's easier said than done to get your head in the right place and keep it there. Trust me, I know. But I also know that it is possible.

My Grandpa was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis before my mom was born. He spent the greater part of his life in a wheelchair without the use of his body from the waist down. Despite that challenge, he was always cheerful, looked for opportunities to serve others, and when he got sick and was in the hospital, he was the nurses' favorite. He'd order Chinese food for the staff, tell jokes, and keep a pleasant demeanor. He had every reason in the world to justify being bitter. He'd lost the use of his legs, he suffered from sores, among other things. But his mind was sharp. He was cheerful and he made an effort to let the cheer spread to others. When life got him down he got his head in the right place.

If he can do it, so can I! I promise, you can too, if you try.