a good day

it's  monday. monday is inherently glum, it seems.

this monday was absolutely no different. BUT--i don't like feeling glum. in fact, it goes against my personality. i enjoy being happy--how else would i be the wise-cracking, always-humming-a-tune ashley you've all come to know and love? well, maybe some of you don't know me...or love me...but you get it.

things always seem worse in the morning, don't they? you've just broken free of the protective womb of sleep, you've just rubbed the sand from your eyes, the cold punch of air outside your bedsheets makes you crazy. you've been there. or, maybe it's the middle of the day, and your job is getting just a bit to frisky. or maybe the humidity ruined your hair. or maybe your mascara's running, or maybe your nail chipped. whatever it is, sometimes, it seems like the world is against us.

but, it's not.

i always just try to realize that it's not the end of the world if a little thing happens to me. i swallow that comfortable glob of self-pity that we've all felt, and i try to think about the good things in my life. i reach out to my family, i pray, i sing songs, i smile. whatever i have to do to make things a little better in that moment, whatever i have to do to slap myself out of gloom, i do it.

today is an especially awesome day--as i'm going to get to hang out with some awesome friends and hopefully plan an excellent sisters adventure this weekend. remembering that things are okay is the hard part, sometimes, but you have to do it. if not, that glob of gloom will cover your whole body, rub off on others, and eventually paint your life gray.

and, although gray is one of my favorite colors, its metaphorical implications are kinda bad.

FURTHERMORE, that gloom makes my writing suffer. that simply cannot happen. my writing is very important to me. maybe y'all will get to see it soon.

chin up, take a deep breath, smile a little.

until next time,

a.