I know what it feels like to have the bills keep piling up until it seems like it will never end. It never feels like you have enough money for anything and you would give your left arm just to be able to take your wife or husband out for a decent meal in a restaurant. It is a confining feeling that sometimes makes you want to yell until you lose your voice, or simply bash your head against the wall.
This too shall pass.
Sometimes it feels like you have lost all control of your life. Like outside forces have more say in how your day ends up than you do. You try everything you can to gain control, but after a while it feels like all you have to do is sit there and terrible things will happen. Nothing you do seems to be able to put your world back in the right direction.
This too shall pass.
You feel like you are just killing yourself to make a difference at what you do for a living. You work later, you do more, but still it seems like management doesn't even notice you. Your co-workers spend all day complimenting you on your work ethic, but then another promotion passes you by. You identify with your job, most people do, and the entire thing feels like a pointless exercise.
This too shall pass.
You just hung up the phone on one family emergency when the phone rings again and someone else expects you to drop everything to help them. Then your friends give you a guilt trip about how you never come out with them and they keep pressing you even when you repeatedly said that all you want to do is just rest.
This too shall pass.
Oh, and the day you are having! It starts off with your alarm clock not going off making you 10 minutes late for work. As you are rushing around to get on track for the day, you spill coffee on your shirt and you never keep a spare shirt in your desk or car. Then at lunch, half of your chicken salad sandwich winds up in your lap. Around 2pm, the daycare calls saying that your child just broke a $100 window that you will be paying for. On the way to daycare to pick up the kids after work, you get a flat. You call your mom to ask her to pick up the kids while you wait for AAA and the guilt trip you get for only calling her when you need something, which is not true at all, makes you wonder if maybe the kids should just stay the night at daycare. By the time you get home, you see that the dog decided to remind you that you are two hours late getting home from work by leaving little piles of love all over the new carpet.
This too shall pass.
You get diagnosed with stage four of a terminal disease. You're confused. You're scared. You're angry. You are extremely afraid for the future of your loved ones. You try not to make rash decisions, but you cannot help it.
Close your eyes. Deep breath. Remember that medical science is interested in your prolonged life. Maybe not your cure, but definitely keeping you alive as long as possible. That is a bonus. That means more than you initially realize.
Close your eyes. Deep breath. Believe it or not...
This too shall pass.
George N Root III is a Lockport resident and normally a pessimist. Follow him on Twitter @georgenroot3, or send him a message at georgenroot3@gmail.com.