The Art of the Frustrating Day

I’m a master at the art of the frustrating day. Here’s how it works:

You start out in a really great mood. Oh yes, this is a must. The day wouldn’t seem nearly so frustrating if you didn’t have some height to tumble down from. At 7:50 am, you soar down the interstate, singing “Don’t Stop Believing” at the top of your lungs. It’s Journey. At 7:50 in the morning. It’s definitely going to be a great day.

Then you get to work. You find out that your day is actually not so great after all. You try to let things roll off your back. But unfortunately, to really perfect the art of the frustrating day, you have to have thin skin. Sorry folks, it’s par for the course. You have to over analyze everything, imagine every possible scenario, and second guess your every move in order to have a truly frustrating day.

Your work day must last at least an hour longer than you thought. Through no particular fault of anyone, but simply because it’s a frustrating day. You have to call your son’s school to tell them to put him in daycare, because there is a snowball’s chance in hell that you’ll be getting there in time to pick him up.

Because your day is frustrating, it naturally follows that traffic is bad, and you must hit every light on the way to finally get your son from school. Your son is required to have a horrible attitude because he does not actually WANT to be picked up from daycare. Because, you see, the real perfection of a truly frustrating day is in spreading the love. Now, your 7 year old son is having a frustrating day, too.

Did I mention that your husband needed you to be home 30 minutes ago so he could leave the house?

You finally make it home, and all you want is a hot shower. But instead, you get three whiny kids who each need a million things accomplished in order to be happy. You get about 7 of the 3 million things done. This, in particular, this “hamster on a wheel” feeling, goes hand in hand with the frustrating day. It wouldn’t REALLY be a frustrating day without a sink full of dishes, laundry overflowing the hamper, broken crayons and crushed Cap’n Crunch on the floor, and memory verses that need to be learned in the next 45 minutes before Awanas.

It also helps if you’re potty training a three year old.

Your frustrating day wouldn’t be well rounded without bedtime temper tantrums and tattles. Throw in a spanking and some back talk and you’ve almost reached the “frustrating day” pinnacle of perfection. All you need is

one.

more.

thing.

Like, say.... a hairball in the middle of the kitchen floor.

Yep.

Now, you have truly mastered the art of the frustrating day.