It's the little things

I read once that it isn't the big traumas in life that make people unhappy, but the small, everyday annoyances that wear away at a person's serenity. A squeaky door for example. A leaking faucet. The idea is that if you deal with the small things that bug you, the satisfaction you will feel far exceeds whatever effort you put out to fix the thing.

I'm pretty sure this happens in reverse, too. A lot of small things conspired against me in November and December and I got stuck. The weather was a problem--it was colder and rainier than usual, which made getting around without a car a bigger headache than usual. Then my bike seat was stolen. My debit card number was pirated somehow, too, so I had to cancel my card and wait for a new one. Don't even ask about switching health insurance and getting my prescriptions filled.

I know I sound like a big whiner, but it was too much. I got stuck. I took to my bed when the kids were with their dad, unable to do much of anything.

And then I got unstuck. Right after Christmas, I went into cleanse mode and started cleaning out the house, closet by closet. I'm throwing stuff out, stacking it for donation. It's been psychically cleansing too. I bought a new bike seat. And it's still light when I get off the bus now. So ends the winter of our discontent.