Postcard from Germany

Sometimes I get caught up in the bad stuff. I think it's something very easy for people in general to do. I tend to get bogged down by the shitty thing this person did, or the dumb comment that person made, or the silly embarrassing thing I just did. One event alone isn't very powerful, but when they start to accumulate, it feels like the dams of Hell have broken and all evil is directed at you. Is that just me? I got a comment on an essay that I write very dramatically. Thing is, as easy as it is for me to get trapped under seemingly endless layers of crap and negativity, it's just about as easy to make me happy.

This morning I woke up to an email that just set my blood boiling. Not the greatest feeling five minutes after becoming conscious. I carried on with my routine, still pissed right off. Eventually, I got out of bed and checked the actual mail. Today was uncharacteristic in that I actually had mail. Addressed to me! The first was from school. My forms and information for Teacher's College arrived. Most of it was, surprise surprise, pointless information that I already know. I mean, I have been a student here for four years. Still, the prospect of moving on cheered me up a bit. And then I saw a postcard.

I was a little heartbroken earlier this summer because my friend Veronica was not only going back home (and not coming back to school, she graduated) but she was planning on going to teach in England. She was really excited about it and it was kind of impossible not to be excited for her, but at the same time, I knew I would miss her. A lot. We kept in touch thanks to the wonders of MSN and kept discussing how we were going to keep in touch after she moved. Like... exchanging foods because apparently Ketchup chips aren't really a thing outside of Canada (madness!), MSN of course and well, postcards (so I could live vicariously through her). Veronica had the idea of doing some traveling while in England. One quick jump across the Channel and all of Europe is there! As a fellow history nerd, I understood completely. In the end, her plans changed.

That wasn't going to keep her from seeing Europe though. She just went through a travel agency. She said she'd send me a postcard but I was pretty sure amidst all the moving around and flurry of activity that she would forget. And who could blame her! I was wrong though.

She sent me a postcard from the Swiss/German Alps. I'll admit it. I was embarrassingly giddy and well... kind of touched. For a minute the crap just went away and I couldn't stop smiling. She couldn't have possibly had better timing.

So my thought for today: I need to stop saying people suck. Only certain people suck. Some people truly are wonderful.

Somehow, that postcard is worth all the crap. I don't know how, but it is.

Lauren.