Reusable

Yesterday I blogged about the power of negative words. And then today happened.

I was on my way to Walmart to go grocery shopping, and feeling on the verge of a nervous breakdown. I had a lot on my mind and just as much on my to do list, and it was all weighing heavily on me. I was feeling discouraged and stressed.

And so, as I drove, I deliberated about whether I really wanted to go to the effort of reaching in the back seat to get my reusable shopping bags. Yes, a very small thing to do. A silly thing to deliberate. But that's just how overwhelmed I was feeling. And the only reason I decided to make the effort was because it would be easier to carry the groceries into my house in the reusable bags.

I walked into Walmart, tucked the bags on the bottom of my cart, and pushed forward. And then one of the Walmart employees looked at me and said in a cheery voice, "Good job remembering your bags!"

Obviously she had know way of knowing the silly deliberation I'd just gone through in the car. Obviously she had no idea how much weight her words would carry. But they lifted my spirits. I wasn't a total failure. I may be behind on my to-do list, but darn it, I remembered my bags. And that was appreciated. I could do something right.