Worry is woman’s work. Always has been. Men worry too, but they are better at letting some things go. Unless they are ranchers. Unless the topic is weather. You hear it everywhere they go; at the feed store, the mechanic shop, the rodeo, and wherever two or three are gathered.
One of my sons says he told a couple of them to shut up the other day. I hope he didn’t use those words. I had a teacher who forbade her students to say shut up. Said it was rude. Just say be quiet and let it go. I continued that rule while raising my kids but realistically, as adults I’ve heard them use a lot of words they were forbidden to speak at home.
Anyway, these two ranchers were discussing recent rainfall and qualified their joy by predicting that rains will likely quit, the wind will blow, and pastures will dry up. My son suggested they knock it off and just thank God for what we got. After all, whatever develops will happen without our permission and we’ll learn to live with it.
A woman chastised her husband because he seemed less concerned with a troublesome situation in their family than she was. His reply to her queries was, “I haven’t opened that box yet.” I hope I can recall that advice when tempted to take up my worry work.
Mitch Gallant, a local radio host, recently signed off his morning show with this. “Keep your face to the sunshine and the shadows will fall behind you.”
My friend texted that she plans to spend more time in the moments and less time in the hours. She also jokes about her tendency to build pyramids when contemplating future disasters that will likely never happen, and if they do, none of the details will be what we planned for.
I read some advice somewhere that fits with worry, as well as with how we make choices. And worry is a choice. We don’t have to do that job; there’s always someone else willing to step up for it. “There’s a cost to everything. Whatever costs you your peace is too expensive.”
There’s enough wisdom in those quotes to cover most situations and I’m not fool enough to try to improve on it or add my own thoughts. What I am going to do is make a list of those rules and post it on the fridge. Go ahead and try that, what can it hurt?
Meet me here next week and meanwhile do your best. Somebody might like it.