Thursday, September 29, 2011

Thursday Think Tank: On Losing Your Grip

Today, I knocked my favorite mug off the top of the entertainment center. The cup, my beloved "Mom" cup, is ringed with a poem printed in a rainbow of colors. The poem is all about the varying states, struggles, and sheer overwhelmingness of Mommydom.

So, when it fell, I of course hollered out --Fuck--Fuck--Fuck--in a loud voice.
Eh, so sue me.
It's my fave mug, and I saw it heading straight for an early demise.

Miraculously, the cup itself did not break.
Well, not the part that makes the cup a cup. The hot/cold beverage holder part is fine, the wonderfully humorous and at times touching poem is unscathed.

But the flippin' handle broke off.

Which led me to think about the nature of things, and how we are (almost always) afforded the opportunity to look at things from more than one perspective.

So my choices were to view this as losing my grip, or as a unique chance to hold the thing I love more closely.
Develop a tighter connection. With whatever it is about the silly mug that I love so much.

I realized I love the silly thing because it makes me remember all the good things about being a mom, while I'm lovin' on myself by drinking a hot cuppa.

Heh.

So, my cup's not broken.
Instead I have a coffee mug that always warms my hands while the words on it warm my heart. I know, total cheese fest. Still, I gotta call 'em like I see 'em.
My cup's better now, cause I'm closer to the action.

Yep.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

So, as you giggle over that, also ruminate on this.
What in your life has been broken in some manner?
And, how can that bring you closer to what you loved about that thing in the first place?

Just something to think about.

4 comments:

  1. I turn favorite cups that lose their handles into pen/pencil holders (I have one for pens, one for pencils, one for colored pencils for when I'm feeling arty, and one in the bathroom to hold random "beauty" paraphernalia that I rarely use -- makeup brushes, hair sticks that my hair's currently too short for -- Oh, and I have a huge one that holds wooden spoons/whisks/etc in my kitchen, and a small one that holds kid-sized versions of same for my Littlest Guy who likes to help me bake. :D)

    I sometimes think that I'm the thing that's broken in my life, and I'm really trying to get closer to me. And sometimes it works.

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  2. I don't know if this is what you meant but I'm going to run with it.

    When I was injured serving in the military I was devastated. I'd loved being a soldier, wearing the uniform, marching, the cadences,I even loved my CO, but when I was discharged and then forced to become a civilian again I had that moment of "OMG what am I supposed to do with my life now?" The things that I'd done before enlisting, like playing sports and dancing, I couldn't do anymore and I had to become a spectator. I began struggling with depression and suicide and thinking about putting myself into Hospice care...at 27...because I couldn't work and I didn't think I'd serve another purpose, I thought I was broken.

    One day I stumbled across a blog post of a dear friend of mine who talked about accepting who you are, embracing it and then finding others who would as well. So I did.

    I came to accept the sexuality that I'd had to fight while serving in the Army, I started writing again and this time writing about what I loved to do but could do no longer. And with my status as a civilian, a "private citizen" as an Army vet, and being an African-American out and proud transgendered homosexual, I found out that the injury I sustained serving my country gave me a better platform to actually serve my country, to bring freedom and change and true democracy. People are quicker to listen to someone who was injured, disabled, while serving their country, so I use the new voice that I've been given even with this old body and I keep doing what I love to do.

    (Hope that's what you meant)

    V. Vee

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  3. Tracykitn and V. Vee...you both hit the ball right out of the park. Smooches to you both!! Yes, that was exactly what I was talking about.

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  4. *Claps* Yay! I thought for a second that I didn't understand.

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What's your take?