Bad Anniversary

I don't know about you, but I have a few 'bad' anniversaries in the calendar year. Days when really bad things happened to myself or my loved ones. Tomorrow, May 12, is such a day for me, the anniversary of the worst day of my life thus far. It's a matter of interest to me how people weather these days in their lives. I have had various methods of dealing with this over the years. Sometimes I stay in bed all day. Sometimes I take a long hike with my dogs. Sometimes I plan a trip, by myself or with said dogs, so I will be in different surroundings. But I always bow to it, acknowledge it, because if I don't days like this come back to bite me in the butt. One year I was traveling for other reasons, and forgot the anniversary of my father's death. I felt sick all day, and logy and tearful, and had no idea why. The next day I happened to pick up a paper, read the date, and remembered the previous day had been my dad's death day. I knew why I'd felt so crappy. I think it's at least good to know why you feel crappy, and be able to prepare for it. Another thing I try to do is to notice beauty, to try to be amused, to attempt, if not to actually be happy, at least to not let the day go by without some acknowledgement of the loveliness of the world. Yesterday, for instance, I took my mom to a Chinese buffet for Mother's Day, and noticed all the mums and daughters. Old and young mums, large and small. Little girls in pretty spring dresses and old ladies with their even older lady mothers (I guess I'd have to include myself in this group). Every one, young and old, seemed to be eating mounds of soft-serve ice cream after their meals, swirling it in big spirals, licking at it or spooning delicately. I'd already had my fruit and fried dough dessert, so will look forward to next time at the Chinese buffet.
So, this week, notice the small things that bring you back to yourself, and also things you can look forward to. The blue of the sky, the little leaves, the smell of cut grass, big swirls and loops of soft-serve. Write and/or draw about what remains good in the world around you, in spite of bad days.