THORN

I'm sure we have all heard the expression that someone is being a "thorn in your side."

Most people have a least one day a year when they are not at their best, and no matter how much you love them, you feel like you just got poked right under your ribs sharply by their actions or words.

And then there are those people who lead their daily lives in such a way that you wonder if there even is a rose at all.  But there is.  You just have to look for it.  Even if it is in the form of something like a day when they leave you alone.  At least they did that for you.

We tend to think of people, situations, actions as either "good" or "bad" but I am starting to see that sometimes, there is a sneaky thorn intentionally included in the bouquet of roses someone gives me, and also that where I only see thorns, a rose can be hiding because to be seen would make it vulnerable.

I'm also learning that while I'm almost always wanting to brighten some one's day just as a rose would, sometimes I'm unintentionally prickly.  Just because you don't want to bother someone doesn't mean that it doesn't happen.

Take my son Landon, who is just shy of three.  He is not feeling so well, and he still needs assistance getting his clothes on and off when he goes potty.  Yesterday he repeatedly interrupted me with a loud, "I GOTTA GO POTTY!" and I knew, if I don't go now, I'll have a mess on my hands.  He wasn't trying to ruin my day, or to get on my nerves.  That is the thorn in the rose of potty training.  It's not he's not in diapers, but not nearly as convenient. 

I could have gotten frustrated, or angry, or put a diaper on him.  None of these things would have made me feel any better.  I simply had a daydream about a whole day where I do what I want and on my schedule, and then enjoyed watching a television show that did not try to teach me the alphabet.  Problem solved and I felt much better.

I think sometimes in life you just have to take the bad with the good, and realize that every rose has its thorn, but that doesn't make it any less beautiful.