When I got up Monday morning, and went to make a pot of coffee, I discovered that for some reason the coffee pot was not working. I tried jiggling the cord, flipping the switch a couple of times and even though the green light was on, indicting that it was getting power, I unplugged it and plugged it back in. I left it on and walked away from it for a few minutes, as if I was going to somehow will it to work. It didn’t, and oh how disappointed I was that I wouldn’t have a cup of coffee to start the day. Can you imagine anything worse than having to start the day without that cup of coffee, that little, or big, (depending on how strong you like your coffee) boost of caffeine, to get you going. Does it get any worse?

Well, the truth is that, while my coffee pot did not work and I did try several things to get it to start and yes, I was pretty disappointed that I wasn’t going to have that first cup of coffee to start my day, this was nowhere near the worst thing that could have happened to me today.

You see, I had already woke up of my own free will, with no alarms to startled me awake, no emergency phone calls, and not even the dogs barking to wake me. When I woke I opened my eyes to see that it was nearly 8:00 a.m., so I knew that I could see. I could hear the blower from the air conditioner running, so I still had my hearing, the power was not off, and it was a comfortable temperature in the house. Before I got out of bed I kissed my husband and he kissed me and said “I love you,”. He too was alive. I stood up and all of my body parts seemed to be functioning fine.

As I walked out of the bedroom Scout wagged his tail at me and Trooper followed me to the living room and then waited for me to let him outside. The dogs were ok this morning.  When I went outside the sun was shining, it was a beautiful morning, and I thought about how much fun we had yesterday with so many family members and friends spending time with us at our farm. It was a really good time.

I decided to let my husband sleep while I went to the farm to let the chickens out for the day. Since I didn’t have my morning coffee, I grabbed a bottle of iced tea and took it with me. The van started and ran good, and I drove to the farm without incident. I was greeted at the farm by my second youngest daughter who had camped at the farm with a friend. She and Trooper went for a walk, while I tended the chickens. When I opened the coop the chickens began piling out. I didn’t have to battle the rooster this morning, even though I didn’t stick around long for him to see that it was me there.

After chatting with my daughter for a few minutes I decided to go into town for coffee, so I asked if she wanted too go. We picked up coffee and breakfast for my husband and youngest daughter as well. Upon returning home, I was joined by my two youngest daughters on the deck for breakfast and coffee and a nice visit. These times with the girls don’t happen much anymore as they are busy with college and working and leading their own lives. Their older sisters are married with jobs and homes and responsibilities of their own. So I do value our times together.

The day went on with clean up at the farm, a siesta, a swim in the pond and an fun afternoon with my husband, and trip to Kmart to buy a new coffee pot.

I was blessed in so many ways today, and I certainly can imagine many, many things worse than my coffee pot not making me my early morning cup of coffee. But our society is so dramatic and programmed to think negatively, that we let the little things that we take for granted become the big things that cause us stress. So many times I hear, or read, about things being “the worst thing that could happen” and I think “no, I can think of far worse things.” Often times, we or someone I know will have an issue, like a flat tire for example that is stressing them out, and my thought is “if this is the worst of my (or their) problems then I (they) should be on my (their) knees, thanking God.” I remember several years ago reading a blog that was written by a mother who was homeschooling her children. She was about to start teaching them algebra, and said she couldn’t imagine anything worse. My reply was, ” be thankful that you are not sitting in a hospital by their bedside, praying for them to wake up from a coma.”

I’ve said this prayer many times in my life, “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” Well the wisdom came when I realized that, for the most part, I can’t control people, the way they think, talk, or act. I also can’t control many situations; things like the coffee pot not working or a flat tire. What I can control is the way that I react. If I choose to react negatively then I will only cause myself stress. I will not have the serenity that I pray for. It may sound cliché  “seeing the cup as half full instead of half empty”, “don’t cry over spilled milk”, or “count your blessings”, but I find that having a true realization of all the blessing that I have been given can minimalize my stress and help me deal with the “crises” of everyday life. Yes, I believe that attitude is everything.  I could have chosen to let my situation, and my disappointment, control my life, but instead I chose to make it a good day.