WHADDYA MEAN, CELEBRATE?

Do you remember an old song that went like this?

Grumpy the Dwarf

     If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands,

     If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands,

     If you're happy and you know it,

          then your life will surely show it,

     If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands.

I'm singing a new verse, that goes something like this:

     If you're grumpy and you know it, frown and growl . . . .

There's no really good reason for my current grump. But there are a lot of little idiotic reasons. Such as:

--my credit card payment, mailed 10 days early, at the Post Office, didn't arrive at the company that processes payments

--the credit card company wants me to pay up--I'm holding out for the check to clear

--the wind has picked up again, gusting along at 35-45 mph; certainly cuts into my going out for errands and exercise sessions

--my sleep patterns--if I can dignify them with such a term--are all topsy turvy, through no fault of anybody I know

--days melt away and I don't know where they go

That's enough to give you the idea. You probably have your own list.

The reason I frown and growl is . . . I can't do anything about the above items. Except fret. Or frown. And growl. None of which does any good.

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It's pretty bad when Mickey has
the grumps.

The weather thing--windy/cold/wet/cloudy stuff--can't change it, but I've decided how to handle that. If I have to stay home, I'll do yoga stretches for exercise. Or watch a fitness video on the computer. Or take a nap. I've even done some of my shopping online (I know, some people do ALL their shopping online)--but that requires using a credit card, which, as we know, needs to be paid, and if not paid, or not recognized by the company as paid, results in a nasty-nice email . . . .

Okay. Enough of that. If I can't change the way things happen, what can I do--really--to adjust my attitude? (I can't afford the professional Attitude Adjustment, so it'll be DIY.)

1. I can find somebody much worse off than I am and recognize just how blessed I am. (This might lead to feelings of superiority, so I'll look for something else.)

2. I can quit buying things online. And stop using credit cards. (Last I heard, cash still works.)

3. I can declare a moratorium on the grumps--one way to do that is to schedule the grumps, say, every Thursday at 2:15 AM, for 5 minutes.

4. I can read something funny--humor does a lot to shift my mood. But it has to be real humor, not satire or the sarks. Funny movies or TV shows can do the same thing.

5. I can complain (if I really, really must)  in my journal, thus protecting my family and friends from the contagion of the grumps.

6. I can do something nice for somebody else. (You're on your own with this one--my something nice might not be your something nice.)

7. I can play some upbeat music--Vince Guaraldi Trio's CD, A Charlie Brown Christmas, makes me want to dance. 

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Writing about the grumps and knowing you're right here with me (you are, aren't you?) lightens the load. 

May your days be merry and bright, and may the grumps never visit your abode.

Linus can put a positive spin
on nearly everything.