"Look for Something Positive in Each Day, Even if Some Days You Have to Look a Little Harder"

Sometimes staying positive is a choice you have to convince yourself to make.

This past week has been full of ups and downs for sure, and today was no different.

Last night I worked until midnight.  When I got home at 1 in the morning I noticed that my mouth started bleeding. (My gums actually)

And that bleeding didn't stop until sometime late this morning. (Don't worry, I am making a dentist appointment for later this week).

So, I only had 3 hours of sleep last night before I had to wake up and leave for work again.

Well, it wasn't so much work that I had to be there for at 6:30 this morning.

This morning was ISOC try outs.

ISOC stands for In Service Open Challenge.

It's basically lifeguard olympics.

So here I am at 6:30 am, barely any sleep, and there with a bloody mouth, ready to compete.

I ran .89 miles (or something like that), took a written test, swam across the pool (phone in pocket....p.s. my phone is dead now), and then showed off all of my lifeguarding skills in different rescue scenarios.

I thought I did extremely well, and turns out I did. But not just well enough to make the team...

I think the reasoning I got was something along the lines of, "other people just wanted it more."

While I don't exactly know how I could have wanted it more, it was just something I had to accept.

This was probably the last year I will ever be able to go out for it, and it's disappointing, but for what ever reason, it just wasn't meant to be.

This past year I have learned that a lot of things just aren't meant to be.  I have also learned a lot about myself.

I have learned that I have the ability to stay positive in numerous not so positive situations. On the flip-side, I also learned that I have the disability of folding and letting everything get to me.

But where I've grown the most is in learning that it is my choice to choose how I will react to the situation.

Was I upset today?

Umm...yeah.

I could've slept in instead of going to these tryouts.

I felt old compared to all the 20 somethings who were trying out.

I felt like they had already picked their team and wasted my time.

I lost my phone.

I also feel like there is no point to a "points" system if you are just going to give it to people who you think want it more....

This list could continue on, I assure you...

BUT

Is it worth ruining my day? No.

After work, I came home, I made lasagna, and watched Breaking Bad with my husband. I read stories to my kids. I got to see a beautiful sunset.

The point is, no matter how positive you are, there will always be disappointing days.

You have to accept this as a truth in life.

But if you take a step back and put things in perspective, the bad feelings that stem from things like failed tryouts, and lost phones don't come anywhere close to the power of good feelings that come from things like a loving family, and a happy home.

I'm counting my blessings tonight.

I choose to stay positive. I choose to just accept that what happened today happened. I also choose to move forward.

Today I did my best. And I am still convincing myself that there are bigger and better things out there than lifeguard competitions.

Alright, time to get the kiddos to bed.

Have a good night :)

Thanks for reading.

Be kind,

Kelly Airhart