The Rebel Housewife - Sherri's Rebel Blog: The Writing Life

I was sitting at CarMax today (our Jeep/Chrysler Dealer), waiting for our Jeep 30K Service. I was supposed to be "chilling" out a bit from our overly-eventful life, trying to finish my book for Book Group tonight ("The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak). Things have been so crazy lately, with my mom in the hospital and now nursing home, being there for her and with her almost every day. I was looking forward to this little bit of waiting time today, to be by myself and escape in the pages of a good book.

The TV was on MSNBC, and between phone calls and emails on my iPhone (which I still love, Love, LOVE), it was all bad news about the economy and the tragic shooting massacres in Alabama and Germany, which take me back to the Atlanta shooting rampage so many years ago.

So what do we do, people?

Everyone is suffering: pay cuts, job losses, reduced health care coverage, stress, tension, fear and uncertainty. Frustration. The media makes it all that much worse, feeding a vicious cycle of negativity.

It can't be a surprise when people start snapping -- is that what happened in Alabama?
That's exactly what happened in Atlanta in 1999, with the disgruntled day trader.

We are all in this together and we will get through it together. It is helpful to hold onto mantras and positive thoughts. Here are a few of my favorites -- by all means, add to the list:

1. Every day above ground is a good day.

2. GRATITUDE: Recognize & appreciate your blessings - all the good in your life.

3. Whatever you focus on gets larger: focus on negative, bad gets worse; focus on positive, good gets better. (I know this is true.)

4. One day at a time -- when that's too much, take it an hour at a time; minute-by-minute, if need be.

This is a season of our lives, and it's bad, but it will get better. Hang in there and we'll help each other through.