Timing

About a month ago, on my commute to work, I spotted a message on one of those outdoor electronic boards that caught my attention. I'd been having one of those mornings. You know the kind... it was one of those stressful and frustration inducing situations that always leaves one feeling disappointed and upset.

This message was perfectly timed. It simply read, "It's not about you."

That's just what I needed at that moment. That message has been scrolling through my brain since I spotted it... a reminder that the "It" in my life is the little people. "It" is all about them.

Last night Ellie woke us at around 12:30 with her loud crying. Not the sick child kind of cry... but the 'what the heck is wrong with this child' kind of cry. The kind that carries on for hours, threatening to wake the entire house and possibly the neighborhood... the kind that carries on until everyone is ready to break down and weep.

I kept reminding myself, "... it's not about you... it's not about you..." But that only works for so long. I hit the wall at hour two. At that point, it was about me. I needed to sleep. As the minutes ticked by, I got more and more frustrated. Just wanting everyone to settle in and sleep.

Eventually, we all went back to sleep... in a tentative way. The alarm rang all to soon this morning and it was still all about me. The jumbo size cup of coffee... that was about me too. Even tonight at the dinner table, I told Ellie that she needed to get her sleep and let Mama and Daddy sleep too.

As it turns out, 80% of things indeed aren't about me. But that other 20%... well, let's just say it's best for everyone if I get my sleep.