Annie's terrible, awful, no good, very bad day

Have you ever had a terrible, awful, no good, very bad day?

I had one today. So bad that I cried at work. Had to go home at lunch and take out my contacts.

Had to keep myself from crying all evening. Thankfully, my kids are young enough that I could blame it on allergies and they didn't know I was lying.

Part of it was not unexpected - the depth of it was, though. The other part came right out of the blue.

I tried to remember what a great weekend I had, and that got me through. Jake had 2 hockey games, then we fed the folks at the Manor. Emme and I had some mommy and me time, and we went roller skating at Viking. And I actually skated! I tried to forget my fear of falling and breaking my *ss, and somehow the old muscle memory kicked in and I made it around the rink several times...enough that Emme said, "Mama, look at you! You're skating! I knew you could do it."

We caught a movie, Hotel for Dogs.

Sunday, we had church, then Super Bowl parties - yes, parties. My kids went to one, I went to another.

It was a great weekend.

And today was in the toilet.

And then I got this email. My foster mother emails me daily. While I lived with her for five years, we never seemed to develop a close bond. There were issues. It couldn't have been easy taking in a 13 year old orphan. But we stay in touch, and she sends lots of emails. Most are silly things that I delete. Some are actually offensive, and I delete those really quickly. But once in a while, she sends one that seems to arrive at just the right time. And that's what happened today.

Monday Wash Day
Lord, help me wash away all my selfishness and
Vanity, so I may serve you with perfect humility
Through the week ahead.

Tuesday Ironing Day
Dear Lord, help me iron out all the wrinkles
Of prejudice I have collected through the years
So that I may see the beauty in others.

Wednesday Mending Day
Oh God, help me mend my ways so I will not
Set a bad example for others.

Thursday Cleaning Day
Lord Jesus, help me to dust out all the many faults
I have been hiding in the secret corners of my heart.

Friday Shopping Day
Oh God, give me the grace to shop wisely so I may purchase eternal happiness for myself and all others in need of love.

Saturday Cooking Day
Help me, my Savior, to brew a big kettle of brotherly
Love and serve it with clean, sweet bread of human kindness.

Sunday The Lord's Day
Oh God, I have prepared my house for you. Please
Come into my heart so I may spend the day and the
rest of my life in your presence.

Thanks, Georgie. I needed that.