Learn to Keep Your Wits When Things Go Wrong

Happy Friday, RISERS! I hope this week has been good to you. Life is funny…you just never know what to expect. This week at my house, we had a leak behind the water heater in our garage. My husband is an intelligent man, but for some reason, he is constantly plagued with home-repair disasters. After spending last night at a hotel, he gets to continue working today on the leak. The ironic thing is that because it was such a late-night emergency and we had to get up extremely early, we even didn’t get to enjoy spending the night in a hotel!

Quote of the week: “When things go wrong, don’t go with them.” –Elvis Presley

Movie of the week: The movie I want to introduce to you this week is Pure Luck, starring Martin Short and Danny Glover. The premise is that Martin Short is an extremely unlucky man. The funny thing about it is that he is asked to help locate a woman who has been kidnapped. She has the exact same terrible luck. The movie is hilarious as you see Danny Glover try to understand how two people can be so unlucky. My favorite scene is where Martin Short tries to decide which seat to sit in at a conference table. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it.

Joke of the week: You’ve heard Murphy’s Law—that if things can go wrong, they will. But have you heard about Cole’s Law? It has shredded cabbage…

Nugget of Wisdom for the week: This week, I want to remind you that there will always be little hiccups in life. This week for us, it was the water leak. Last week, four of the six members of our family had COVID-19. You will never be able to control every aspect of your life. As the joke above hinted, I want to remind you of the concept that if things can go wrong, they will. I realize that is overly pessimistic; however, the idea definitely contains an element of truth. How you respond to situations that are not ideal (and certainly not planned) will determine how you get through them.

My daughter is 18 now. She has a level head on her shoulders, but she hates to be inconvenienced by ANYTHING. Last week when she had COVID, she was not happy. Last night, when we had to spend the night in a hotel, she was upset that we had to leave after she had already gone to bed. She “had to work” today, so she ended up spending the night with our oldest son at his apartment. Clearly none of us expected to get COVID, and it certainly messed up the things I had planned last week. My husband has had to not only to work his job from home this week, but also deal with fixing our leak so that we will have water again. Although setbacks are aptly named, because they impede our plans, they are also little life lessons to help us grow. The process you develop now to handle such things will either cause you to be highly flexible as you get older or more rigid—and likely to suffer plenty of headaches and frustration. So, remember the saying, “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” You’ve got this!

Have a great week. Remember, you are most awesome, and YOU ROCK!

Marion Rhines is a foster-turned-adoptive parent. She lives in Knoxville, Tenn., with her husband and five children. She has written and published two children’s books as well as two foster-care-themed novels. She has a Facebook blog, Tips from the FLIP Side, and enjoys working with children of all ages.

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