April the 8th is a notoriously bad day around here.
Over the years, I can list many things that have happened on April the 8th that range from pretty bad to just plain horrible. Among these things are first boyfriend breakups, friend’s deaths, and an f5 tornado that almost wiped out my mom’s hometown. Each year I watch the calendar in anticipation of the day and breathe a sigh of relief if all my friends and loved ones make it through it unscathed. Most years we do ok, but this year? Not so much. This year will get added to the roster of Really Bad Aprils.
There’s too much to list, but to give you an idea–my husband took an ambulance ride from his office, and then my dad went into the hospital with a very unexpected surgery. I’ll spare you all the gory details, but 8 days later I’m still in the middle of the fallout from this year’s events.
Tensions are running high and much drama ensues. You get the picture. I’m thinking of writing a country song titled “Don’t Spinoff Tornados From the Eye of a Hurricane.” I’ve made the mistake of spinning off some unnecessary stress-tornadoes lately, which is a very stupid move on my part. I need to focus on the big issue at hand and just let the rest lie for a while. Easier said than done.
I know that my family is not the only one being attacked right now. Are you experiencing a case of the Aprils, too? It seems that almost everyone I know is facing a battle of some sort. Depression and anxiety are running rampant. Health scares are everywhere. Money is tight. Jobs are stressful. Facebook trending news feed is downright scary and hackers are spamming me with pornography everywhere I turn. This year’s presidential nominees are more Jerry Springer than George Washington. America is a hot mess and the rest of the world is suffering way worse than we are.
Even my Pinterest feed is filled with scary pictures of scary skin rashes and dirty toilet “before” photos. Seriously, what happened to my little pin-happy place? I’m thinking about hitting the campaign trail with the slogan “Make Pinterest Great Again.” I’ll start by building a wall (with a step-by-step DIY tutorial and amazing landscaping, of course) then I will ban all photos of all the things that make me shiver and cringe. Who’s with me?
Seriously though, adulting is HARD, y’all.
It’s not for the faint of heart. How can we turn this tide? I wish I had the answers. In the meantime here are a few bright spots where I’m finding some peace, inspiration an AHA moments right now.
Pretty little Sticky Notes for the Soul Free Printables by Ann Voskamp:
The Peace Filled Home Series by my friend Vanessa from At The Picket Fence:
Three Ways to Age Terra Cotta Pots by Craftberry Bush:
Who’s Afraid of the Big Bare Root? A guide to planting bare-root roses by The Redneck Rosarian:
The Evolution of Anxiety: I have often wondered how people back in the days of living hand to mouth ever functioned from the stress and anxiety of just staying alive. But this article explains it so well.
And finally….
F.B. Purity – There’s no pretty graphic to share for this link, but MAN has it saved my sanity these past few months. Here’s what it does: It allows you to clean up and customize how you see facebook from your computer (unfortunately there is no smart phone app yet). But you can block the trending (horrific) news feed, hide all the random posts that your friends like or comment on, even block yourself from seeing any posts that have key words in them that you don’t want to see *coughtrumphilarycough*. My life has been forever changed now that I don’t get bogged down the daily facebook nonsense that sent me into a time-wasting tailspin every time I logged in.
Maybe some of these can help you with your case of the Aprils, too.
Either way, I’m sending up prayers that all of our April showers turn into May flowers very soon.
I send good vibes for a better May. I visit the Sugarboo instagram when I need some uplifting quotes/insight. It helps! ?
Adulting is very hard. Unfortunately it doesn’t get easier. I guess by the time you are my age (70) you get little cynical and just expect it to be bad and are happy when it isn’t. All we can do is lean on the Lord and pray diligently for our country!
Praying for better days for you and your family. We have to find a little peace in the storm each day. I am a fellow Alabama resident in Jacksonville, AL.. Get outside on this beautiful sunshine-filled day and see God’s handiwork. It certainly helped me this morning.
I can so relate to your post. Praying for you and your family. Weeping last for the night but joy comes in the morning!
Oh noooooo! I hate to hear that April 8th is an awful day for you because it’s my birthday 🙁 Usually the worst that happens on that day is snow. I got lucky this year with no snow, but most of April has sucked lemons for my family – my daughter was hospitalized for several days, my husband has had pneumonia and I’ve had a health scare that is leading me to a colonoscopy scheduled for the 25th. It’s been a tough month for sure. Every time someone would say “April showers bring May flowers”, my dear Granny would remind them that around here May is a much rainier month than April. Let’s hope that Granny is wrong this time!
Prayers for you and your family.
Beth, Blessings to you and your family. I love your blog and all the things you write about are so real and educational. I live in the Shelby county area, so I can relate to some of your post. So sorry for your pain, if it helps you have a lot of people who love you, people like me who hasn’t met you in person yet. You have a beautiful family and praying that everyone is healing well. April is almost over!!!!