a crappy day … or not?

This past week I’ve had at least three crappy days. No surprise that when Friday started it had “crappy” written all over it.

It began with a to-do list about a mile long… and that was just for the morning. Now, I could sit here and type for hours about why I had so many things on this list, and why they all needed to be done at the same time on the same day, but I’m pretty sure you’ve all had similar days and experiences, so we’ll just leave it at that. Oh, and I was dealing with incompetent idiots. But I’m sure you’re familiar with that as well. So we’ll continue….

Five minutes before I was to leave the house I learned the hard way that the clothes in the dryer were still wet. And all my jeans that currently fit were in there… wet. Quickly sent a text to inform the person I was meeting that I’d be late, then prayed the dryer would do its job quickly.

Waiting for the dryer I gathered my list and other necessities in preparation of leaving the house, but I could not find a needed credit/atm card. One that did not belong to me. Well, it has my name on it — I didn’t steal it or anything like that — but it’s for a  volunteer group type thing I belong to, where I am in charge of the money. The only one in charge. With the only credit/atm card. And I couldn’t find it. And the last time I used it was a month ago. And people were depending on me for funds from this account within a few hours. This was so not good.

Instead of crossing items off my list I ended up sorting through piles of papers and digging into drawers and looking under furniture and emptying old purses. Still couldn’t find it.

And I had an itchy rash.

And an upset tummy.

And I’ve gained weight lately.

And my hair was full of static.

So that’s my definition of a crappy day. There are other versions and variations, but that’s a typical one for me.

During my oh-my-gosh-where-is-that-stupid-card frenzy, I got a call back from the person I couldn’t meet due to wet jeans. Not a problem, she said. She would have been late as well, she said. She was rear-ended on the way to meeting me, she said, while driving her husband’s new car. Okay, so maybe her crappy day is worse than my crappy day.

That reminded me of a conversation from earlier in the week, when another friend received some terrible news, and it made her evaluate her crappy days. Her worst day didn’t outweigh what her friend was going through. Not even close. Should she feel guilty for complaining when things weren’t going well for her? Was she not allowed to feel crappy on her crappy days, because on the big scale of life someone else had a more crappy experience? No, I said.

We all have our bad days. We shouldn’t compare them. And beyond not comparing, I’ve learned that there are certain people I don’t tell certain problems to. If, for example, I have an issue with Z’s school (which, by the way, I do) there is one friend who would laugh at me for even complaining about it. She would gladly trade me that issue for her son’s issue. Since we can’t do that, I just don’t burden her with my problem, knowing that to her it’s not considered a problem in the first place. But it is to me. And I’ve learned that’s okay.

Back to my crappy day. It got better. Less crappy. Much less.

At the bank, they were so very kind and helpful and were able to get done what needed to get done and ordered another credit/atm card for me… no problem. Phew.

And then after dealing with the incompetent idiots and while doing normal afternoon stuff along with trying to clean up the mess I had made in the morning all around the house, Z informed me that someone was at the door. I didn’t hear the bell or a knock, but when I checked, there on the stoop was a box. A Crappy Day Package! For me! And I was having a crappy day!

a CDP on a crappy day!

I opened it and can not even begin to rightly describe how happy it made me to see the colorfully wrapped packages.

pretty packages... for me!

Just the simple pleasure of getting an unexpected and beautiful gift was enough to brighten my day and clear out the stress that had built up that morning. But it didn’t stop there. Within a second my eye noticed a plastic container that held brownies. BROWNIES!!!!!

look... on the right.... BROWNIES!

There is really only one thing that is100% sure to relieve a crappy day for me, and chocolate is it. I quickly shoved a brownie into my smiling mouth. Then another. Then Z asked for one. What? Who are you and what do you want?  That snapped me out of my little bubble. I couldn’t give him one due to his allergies so instead I gave him a different allergy-free treat, and then I quickly hid the box before Jane came home. Something about this being for me, and only for me, was such a warm and special feeling. All the crappiness of the day disappeared. All of it. All due to colorful wrapped packages in a mysteriously delivered box. And brownies. I didn’t even need to open the other presents. I could save them for another crappy day. Yahoo!

But I’m probably the most impatient person you’ll ever know. In less than five minutes I re-opened the box and was intrigued with the present that said I’m betting this isn’t the strongest but DAMN it’s cute!  How could I unload the dishwasher and make dinner and brush my teeth and sleep at night not knowing what was inside????? You understand, right? This is what I found:

how cute is this?!?!?!

And it turns into this:

a reusable bag! a cute reusable bag!

If you read my post from a week or so ago about some of my favorite things, you will remember that I am a bag lady… a reusable bag lady who has a freakishly strange addiction to reusable bags. I LOVE THIS BAG!!!!!

So I send many many many thanks to my wonderful friend who sent me this much appreciated CDP. I am so blessed to have her as a friend, and thankful for the inspiration she’s given me — it was because of her blog that I started mine and she’s a big part of me writing again, which I haven’t done enough of in years. The world is a better place because she is in it.

And the person who started this whole CDP exchange is pretty awesome too. The process is amazing. After first reading about her CDPs, I sent packages to a sister and Trout and Trout’s girlfriend away at college, but being on the receiving end I now know the joy and connection and the oh-my-holy-one-I’m-not-alone-in-this-world-and-someone-cares-about-me feeling. It’s pretty cool and wonderful and special.

I’m all giddy and feel like Santa (my recent weight gain helps with that) because this weekend I’m packing up a CDP that is heading across the country to brighten the day (or days) or another blogger. I have yet to meet her in person, though from reading her blog I think I’ve gotten to know what will make her smile.  Here’s a sneak peak, dear blogger across the country, of what you have to look forward to, and may you feel the same joy and happiness that I felt when receiving my package:

you didn't think I'd show you what was in the packages, did you?