It's All About Perspective

I had a pretty rotten day yesterday. The kids were tired and cranky from their first week of school. Ken worked all day Saturday, so I was alone with them all day.  They woke up Sunday morning screaming at each other and fighting and it never did get much better.  Amidst the squabbling over toys, I managed to hear one piece of the homily and Fr. Joe asked the question, "Do I come to Mass to feel holy or do I feel holy because I come to Mass?"  I was definitely sitting there *trying* to feel holy.
I was stressed and getting grumpier on my way out to the van. Ken had to work on Sunday too, so I knew I was slated to go to the grocery store alone with the kids and then spend the day moderating their fights.
As we were walking out to our van, I saw another family climbing into the van.  The Mom and Dad were behind me, but they have a new van with automatic doors, so the kids were all scrambling into their seats already. I grumbled to myself, "I wish *I* had a van with automatic doors."
I kept walking and another van pulled out of a space in front of us. This one had several large dings in the side and was completely missing two windows.  Suddenly my van didn't seem so bad anymore.
The kids listened pretty well in the store. They stayed with the cart and didn't yell at each other. They ate their lunch peacefully and then all three went to take naps. (This may or may not have been due to the evil stink eye I was sending their way...) They did fight for the afternoon, but I dealt with it.  I also got a nice email from Henry's school librarian telling me how nice it was to have him in her class.
All in all, it was a good day to think about perspective.