The Makings of a Jonah Day

I can't help it- whenever I have a day in which one thing after another goes awry, I think of Anne and her Jonah Day.

It comforts me, somehow, to know that I am not the only one who has these kinds of days.

Above all, it helps to give these days a name.

Jonah Days... 

• ...are when the two-year-old tries to refill his own water bottle from the BRITA tank in the fridge and ends up leaving the spigot turned on so that the fridge requires several towels and a spontaneous cleaning right in the middle of doing flashcards.
• ...are when it's raining for the fourth day in a row and the children are climbing walls and turning couch cushions into horses and picking fights every time you turn around- and then some.
• ...are when you put a zipper in a dress you are sewing for your daughter and the sewn-in belt absolutely does not line up in the back and needs to be fixed, but you have to put the project away at this disconcerting point because you are suppose to be teaching school and baking bread and taking care of cowboys.
• ...are when you wash a load of laundry specifically because the two-year-old's jacket was christened with gummy sharks yesterday and needs to be cleaned...only to realize after the load is finished that you never collected the jacket from the closet, much less put it in the washer.
• ...are when the two-year-old hears something about you cutting some fresh bread for a snack and when you walk into the kitchen he is armed with the electric knife and blades and says cheerily that here is the chainsaw!
• ...are when you decide to go on a few errands in the afternoon (which you almost never do!) and it happens to be the afternoon that there is a big fire in town, so that main street is closed off and it takes two or three times longer to get to where you were going than it normally would!
• ...are when you finally have the bread baked and school finished and the mound of dishes washed and the errands completed and you go to your bedroom to relax a bit with a good book and the four-year-old does not sleep and instead opens and closes his door rather noisily just often enough that it keeps you from fully reaping the benefits of a nap.
• ...are when you make pizza for supper and when you pick up the oregano container to sprinkle a bit on top before sliding the finished product into the oven, the lid comes off (because it was not put on tightly after being used several minutes before) and the container spills great heaps and piles of oregano right on top of the carefully laid sauce, cheese and pepperoni.
• ...are when you take your first bite of aforementioned pizza and find it a bit more salty than usual, and while your husband can't quite tell what the unusual taste is, thinking perhaps it was the EXTRA OREGANO, you soon discover that, yes indeed, you were to use only 1 teaspoon of salt...not a whole tablespoon!
• ...are when the phone rings pretty much only when it is most inconvenient and either the children are having a boxing match or the person requested is in the bathroom or the first grader is waiting on her story from The Long Winter.
• ...are when you are handing a bowl of applesauce to the seven-year-old and it slips from your grasp and crashes into a plate just enough to chip and crack one of those little stoneware bowls you like so well.
• ...are when three children wear their clogs to the shop (where Daddy is a mechanic) when bleeding the brakes on the van turns into a family affair, and while you are "pushing and releasing" the brake pedal and your husband is doing the bleeding, the children go stomping and splashing around on a very dirty floor and three pairs of clogs require a good scrubbing with a brush & lots of water upon returning home.

Jonah Days, in my experience, are when you scramble all day for patience, forbearance and good cheer, only to find it sorely missing at every turn. 

Jonah Days are not made up of tragedies, mind you, and they have in their midst many things to be grateful for (such a husband who does all the vacuuming and mutual love between mother and brood at the end of the day despite mutual mistakes) but really, this kind of day does almost makes me a believer in days that are just plain destined for mistakes and misdemeanors!

And yet...I have a feeling that I should look at Jonah Days as an opportunity to choose the high road, when in actuality, I usually do a pretty good job of sitting by the low road feeling disgruntled!

All in all, I think Marilla has a pretty good philosophy about the whole thing...

"Well, never mind. This day's done and there's a new one coming tomorrow, with no mistakes in it yet, as you used to say yourself. Just come downstairs and have your supper. You'll see if a good cup of tea and those plum puffs I made today won't hearten you up."

 I don't see any plum puffs about the place in my particular case (as lovely as that sounds!), but speaking of  the ultimate comfort in a cup...

I sure could use a cup of tea!!!