I’ve been known to unintentionally wear my clothes inside out…more times than I’d like to admit. A good friend of mine has come to expect this occurrence as the norm actually. It’s as if this friend would ask me if all is well if I made it more than a few months at the time with clothes appropriately worn. Just this morning, when Tyn and I took a gorgeous stroll in the cool fall breeze along a tree line with captivating, magnificent colors of yellow, orange, and red, palm trees in the distance as a reminder of our true love, I looked down to find that I’d put her collar on inside out. True story. I feel like if I asked ten people if they’d ever done that, zero would say yes.
As Tyn looked up at me in confusion with an understanding face as always, I’m sure thinking, “She’ll work it out. She always does. I’ll be patient,” I thought, what do we do when life turns us inside out? How do we react? Are we patient and understanding? Do we push forward anyway, knowing we’ll eventually get it right? Some days are happy and some are more challenging. That’s what makes the big picture of life grand. We enjoy all the beauty of it and when times are harder, we grow. How would we grow otherwise?
When was the last time you were elated, on cloud nine, and having the time of your life and thought, I really need to go home and fix my life? We don’t do that. It’s when we see aspects of our lives that aren’t as we’d hoped that we stand up and do something about them. We push through, physically and mentally.
Tyn pushes through arthritic pain, pulled muscles, torn ACLs, and a dog mom who can’t put her collar on the right way to enjoy every moment. She learns how to shift her weight and run with reckless abandon on the beach. Last month, she hiked stunning, steep, leaf-covered mountains and walked through boulder-laden, brisk, flowing streams with me after just getting over a muscle strain. Birds and squirrels watch out! Puppies have nothing on her determination! Even the plastic coyote she encountered on a recent day of swimming and walking on acres of quiet land in the countryside didn’t see it coming. She approached him full-on and wasn’t having his presence! The prideful walk she had after she’d told him who was in charge was well-earned.
If you ever realize you’ve put your clothes on inside out…again, instead of rolling your eyes at your current life situation and giving up on it, laugh and say, “I’ve got this!” Push through the inside out to see how you grow. Maybe turn your clothes and dog’s collar back around first, though, because that’s a fad no one wants to see take place.