Recently, my family and I had the granddaughter, or as we call her, “the grand.” We don’t get to see her very often, so we always try to find something fun to do when we were with her.
It started out a perfect day. Little did I know what was about to happen.
“The grand,” the hubs, her uncles, aunt, and I all arrived at the park early in the morning before the Texas heat got to be too much. We had a great time watching her play on the toys. At one point, she looked at my son and said, “This is the best day of my life! And yours!”
She was right!
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We needed to get her mommy a birthday present, so we left the park and took her shopping. We went for some Tex-Mex for lunch. Things seemed to be going swimmingly, until . . .
We left lunch and started walking towards my car. Shards of glass were EVERYWHERE — inside the car, scattered on the ground outside the vehicle. While we were eating, someone had smashed the driver side rear window.
At first, I was confused, then fearful, and finally angry. So angry.
Before I said anything, I caught a glimpse of my kids and the grand. Their faces showed the same emotions that mine did with uncertainty of what to do. They were watching me.
Instinctively I knew whatever I did next would be watched very closely by the little ones. I decided instead of blowing up and raging, my next move would control the situation.
I took a deep breath and assessed. I called in the insurance claim and scheduled the repair. Then started to clean up the glass that was scattered all over the inside of the floor, the vents, and seats.
It was challenging, but I made it a point to go about our day as if it didn’t happen. That meant taking control of my attitude and mind.
It was hard.
Then it occurred to me that someone is always watching — not just during the hard times or when a freak accident (like a window smashing) occurs. Your children, your husband, your friends, you co-workers your boss, someone is always watching how you will react when life throws you curve balls.
Windows can be fixed. The damage is temporary. But how my granddaughter sees me is permanent. Had I reacted differently, it would have ruined her perfect day. We would have all been tense. Instead, I taught her that even though bad things happen, we control how they affect us. I showed her that order can be created from chaos with the right reaction and mindset.
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So choose your words, your actions, and how you handle things with care. Show kindness, restraint, hope, confidence, faith, and love.
