Peaks and Valleys

Tuesday was rough but in the grand scheme of things, nothing bad actually happened to me. No one died. No one was hurt. No tragedy occurred. Maybe it’s the lack of actual drama that made it harder to bounce back. It’s like a sprained ankle: nothing is broken, you’ll be fine in a few days, but those days of dealing with the annoyance of the sprain and being limited to your everyday life seem to be the most miserable days of your life.

I suppose my last post could have been read as more of an SOS than I meant it to – really I wrote it 2 days later mostly because looking back at everything (especially the thug on the street) it really was starting to be pretty funny. I mean really, all of that in one day? The jerk from Brooklyn plus the thug on the street plus the many many many blisters on my poor toes from my anger management march around Chevy Chase plus living and reliving all the political crap of working in a DunderMiflinWorld – could be a hilarious part in a movie some day (although when I re-write it, I WILL turn around and kick that guy in the pants – geeeeze)

Wednesday morning, I made a conscience decision to a) get over myself and b) have a good day, no matter the cost. I thought I’d treat myself to some Starbucks and wear my new outfit to work – feel good on the inside, look good on the outside. Then I got an email from my boss, Heidi, to let us know she was at the hospital, in labor, about to become a mom for the first time. By mid morning, her very own bouncing baby boy had arrived. Little Markus Octaveous had joined the ranks of the world officially.

Wednesday night I lit Markus’ candle in my room, celebrating his very first birthday. I said a little prayer for him and his newbie parents, but rather than ask God to simply bless the family with health and happiness, I asked Him to give Markus the ability to bounce – to take all the peaks and valleys he’ll travel through and knowing he’ll have rough times, give him the strength of character to see through to the good times. I’ve learned this lesson hard this week – I’ve got to learn how to bounce better – not take things so seriously and shake it off. And I’m doing just fine.

I’ve bounced back in a big way now – I’m writing this on a train (the acela even!) on my way to New York City for a full week in the Big Apple. I’m working out of our NY office, and I’ll be working IN an ACTUAL office, looking out at St. Pat’s Cathedral on 5^th Avenue (googlemap THAT thug boy). I’m pretty sure I have the ability now to jump tall buildings in a single bound. This is one big bounce back and I’m loving every second of it.