Grumpy. Sleepy. Dopey.

Do you every feel like this?   I call it the “Seven Dwarfs Syndrome.”   In my corner of the world it is real and has a habit of surfacing from time to time.

I wonder if it is any coincidence that the Brothers Grimm, who penned the story of “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs“, came up with the names of the those seven little men.  Grim indeed, some might say.  Thank goodness they named one dwarf Happy.

Recently, our family went away for the weekend.  It was a beautiful spot in British Columbia, Canada. Mountains on all sides, beautiful condo (a generous offering from new friends), swimming pool, etc.  I had all these grand plans of what we would do and how much fun we would have. PAUSE.  Instead, there were a few little “hiccups” along the way.

I will pare the experience down to two distinct “hiccups.”  It was a beautiful morning for hike.   We checked the map and headed out the door.  Normally the ski chair lift is in operation in the summer to take you up the mountain to the beginning of the hiking trails.  For whatever reason the chair lift was not in operation.  So, we thought, let’s just hike up the mountain side and get to the trails this way.   Well, not so easy. Very long.  And quite steep elevation.  It took some effort to be sure.  And when you factor in grumbling kids you just pretty much want to leave them there for the bears.  I don’t know about you, but grumbling and whining drive me insane.  I need to own the fact that I have very little tolerance or patience on a good day so this was not  my best mommy moment.   After many “words” (insert growling) we decided to take a break and cut the hike short.

The second incident involved a traffic law in B.C that we were not familiar with.   End result?  Hefty fine, car impounded for 7 days, family of five stranded in a little place were the bus services ran out of an Esso gas station, no change of clothes etc.  You get the picture.

Where is the joy in any of that?  Well,  when I look back, here is what I learned:

1) God is in control of my life.  Not me.  He is there even in the Grumpy.  And in the Happy.  Even though these two little stories are really nothing on the larger scheme of things like lack of food, illness, death, tornado’s  we do have a CHOICE as to how we respond in any situation.

2) Let it go —so we didn’t make it to the top of the mountain, does that really matter? I am gradually discovering that some of life’s best memories are from the spontaneous, unexpected events in our lives.   Allow them to happen.

3) Find the joy IN that very moment –  I have to admit I had to do some deep digging to find it on that hike, but then it came to me,—holding hands with both my girls at the same time as we tried to navigate our way down the mountain safely. There was even some laughter!  As for the car fiasco, there was a  family “group hug”  moment, of sorts, in the hotel—melt my heart.

So, as Snow White suggests,  let’s not let the Grumpy define us.