{"id":154,"date":"2003-01-30T23:13:19","date_gmt":"2003-01-31T07:13:19","guid":{"rendered":"\/?p=154"},"modified":"2006-01-28T11:15:06","modified_gmt":"2006-01-28T19:15:06","slug":"secret-message-5-a-smile-is-just-a-frown-turned-upside-down","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aprilgem.com\/log\/?p=154","title":{"rendered":"Secret Message #5: A Smile Is Just a Frown Turned Upside Down"},"content":{"rendered":"

Just because I’m hitting lemons doesn’t mean they’ve stopped hitting me… but here’s the big news: I will spend the weekend repeating history<\/a>, and I absolutely refuse to let it get me down because (1) for the past three months I’ve lived like I was Anne Frank<\/a> herself and (2) it’s become really uncomfortable walking on eggshells around the keeper of the nine circles<\/a>. I’m light on my feet and very quiet, so quiet I’ve startled people when they suddenly realize I’ve entered a room; I don’t even play music or move around a whole lot after a long day at work. So, how the hell do my footsteps knock pictures off of someone else’s wall?<\/p>\n

I know. It’s my magnetic personality.<\/p>\n

But ohhh, the havoc this has wreaked in my small but already chaotic world. I’ve learned time and time again that life is never simple; it only gets more and more complicated with each year. I’ve been looking forward to future days full of idyll and halcyon ways, but each time Murphy visits me, I find myself turning nostalgic instead. Those happy times, I realize, happened yesterday when I was dreaming of today. I simply failed to see it for what it was and never thought to appreciate it.<\/p>\n

So here I am, appreciating today.<\/p>\n

Why? Because of these things: (1) however stupid the employees at the local phone company are, even if it takes me the whole day to rectify their<\/i> mistakes, at least I have my phone line working again; (2) however much I hate packing and unpacking, even after only three months, at least I have this opportunity to whittle down my stuff<\/a> again; and (3) however sick my loved ones are, so long as they’re alive, at least they aren’t already worse and gone from my life forever.<\/p>\n

You see? It isn’t a rose bush with thorns. It’s a thorn bush with roses, and aren’t the roses a lovely surprise?<\/p>\n

[You buying this crap yet?]<\/p>\n

Seriously, though. Just take my secret message this month to heart and spread it around. I think we all need it every now and then. I have every reason to smile, so if you need one, let me know; I’ll share some with you.<\/p>\n

Here are a few to start you off:<\/p>\n