The Runaway Mama by Jen Gregory

This post isn’t about the new movie, “Silver Linings Playbook,” although I do want to see it.  Bradley Cooper + a Boston accent = hubba hubba!  Actually, it’s supposed to be an excellent movie.  But, I digress.

This post is about the silver linings I’ve been searching for all day.  You see, I think I was a tad bit too grateful earlier this week.  As a consequence of all of my optimism, today was pretty much a repetitive slap in the face.

Just like Black Friday, it started yesterday.  Dylan’s bronchitis shadow has been following me all week.  Yesterday, I knew it was imminent.  This morning, It was upon me.  This silver lining was easy to find:  My primary care doctor was on-call and more than happy to call in two prescriptions, including cough syrup with codeine.  See, that was easy.

Next, we had to cancel our babysitter.  There’s nothing more depressing than canceling a babysitter.  The only silver lining I have for this one is the cough syrup with codeine.

Moving on.  I had an ultrasound of my thyroid this morning.  It was no big deal, but during the procedure I couldn’t shake the feeling that maybe – just maybe – this is the time when the (healthy) jig is up.  If you’ve ever had an ultrasound, x-ray, MRI, CT scan or colonoscopy, you might understand the feeling I’m describing.  There’s no hiding when a big, noisy machine is taking pictures of the inside of your body.  Even the sweet, quiet ultrasound, which is done in a warm, cozy, and dimly lit room, can yield disastrous results.  Still, for all of my paranoia about my health, I’m not overly worried about this one, and that optimism, my friends, is the silver lining.  That, and health insurance and a great doctor (the same one who prescribed the magic cough syrup).

When I returned home from the ultrasound, I discovered a huge crack in the windshield of our new car.  It wasn’t there when I drove the car to the grocery store earlier in the morning, and it only sat in the driveway after that.  The only silver lining I have for this one is that when the car eventually gets its first big ding in a parking lot, I won’t go batty because the big-ass crack in the windshield will have drained me of all of the new car battiness I had.  Sigh.

Finally, the long-range forecast for Dylan’s outdoor birthday party in the park next Sunday, December 2^nd is lookin’ pretty bleeping wet.

I know anything can happen in seven days, but it doesn’t matter.  The seed’s been planted.  I’ve already started online shopping for rain ponchos.   The silver lining for this one is a stretch, but here goes:  Rain on your wedding day is supposed to be good luck.  (It rained on mine!)  Perhaps the same is true of outdoor birthday parties in the park?

Bugger.

How was your Black Friday?