I had a random chat with a friend yesterday who is in the thick of remodeling her house. I’d reached out in a pinch about needing to borrow shirts for the boys for Grandparent’s Day today. It’s a long story that quickly became hilarious as she began to explain that she doesn’t currently have access to her laundry room. So all of said shirts are dirty and inaccessible. On top of that, they ended up staying in a hotel the night before unexpectedly. Because, home remodel.
Enough said.
As she was telling me about all the issues and unexpected plot twists that landed them in the hotel, it was easy for me to empathize. We recently spent more than an entire year on a remodel we thought would take a few months. I really got her. I’m well acquainted with that feeling of uncontrollable chaos. Living in a remodel seems like no big deal, until you’ve been through it.
It wreaks havoc on your sense of sanity, in a way that can’t easily be explained with words.
Just listening to hear talk, I could instantly remember how it felt. I wanted to comfort her, but I knew my words were just platitudes while she was sleeping on a mattress in the hall. Just then, she mentioned something about being thankful this wreckage wasn’t caused by flooding. Of course, she was right. But in that moment, when your life feels out of control, it doesn’t really matter why. It doesn’t matter if it was a natural disaster or you brought it on yourself. It’s still painful and you need to know you’re seen.
The only words I could find were, “One day, it will be over.”
We both laughed because that’s about all there is to hang on to. Again, if you’ve ever remodeled you’re likely familiar with the feeling that it might not have been worth it. So there’s not even that. But there is the hope that it won’t always be this bad.
It will get better.
When I saw this quote this morning, I knew this was the story for you today. I don’t know anything about this show. I don’t know anything about what you’re going through. But if you’re feeling exhausted, overwhelmed, or stuck, and you’re wondering how you’re going to make it through, this little wisdom bomb is for you today.
“You will feel better than this. Maybe not yet. But you will. You just keep living. Until you are alive again.” ~ Call the Midwives
Keep living. Keep showing up. Keep doing the next right thing.
One day you’ll wake up and realize it’s over.
And you are alive again.
to more love,
Crystal
