Varying degrees of Bad News

Sometimes I think we all get bogged down in the minutia of our daily lives and we over react to "bad" news.

Now when I say bad news I'm talking about the kind of thing that goes like this:

Oops I forgot to buy milk, so I phoned the workaholic and ask him to get some on his way home, he says yes, so I assume there will be milk when I need it. Flash to the next morning and cereal is in bowls, I open the fridge  and DISASTER no milk..

Now the scene that follows is one that is probably worthy of the news, "There's an asteroid heading for Earth and we are all going to die" rather than, "bugger, quickly kids get dressed we need to make a dash to the Servo o to buy milk".

I'm sure every Mum can relate to this.

This week the fact that my perspective on bad news was completely wackadoo was horribly brought home by some truly terrible news. 

My friends Husband, my Little Man's best friend's Daddy has a brain tumour.

I've been so off my game (the glad game that is) that I had been worrying about the most ridiculous teeny tiny little issues, blowing them out of proportion and wondering why the Workaholic couldn't understand my position and WHAM! I got a wake up call.  It's a doozy.

There are 3 kids under 5. The youngest is just 4 months old.  It really doesn't matter how big or small this tumour is, not even if it is malignant or benign, the outcome his not good.  Brain surgery is tricky stuff.  Even the most positive outcome doesn't have him back to normal and back to work anytime soon.  My friend is living in a hotel near the hospital with the baby. The other two kids are in their own home with their grandparents.  The upheaval of such BAD news is only just beginning.  I can't even imagine what is to come...

My heart is breaking.  I feel teary all the time.  I just keep hugging my kids and I want to hug the workaholic, but he has a full on week at work and has been invisible this week.

The positive from this situation is that I am not bothered by the small stuff.  I haven't over reacted to any bad news or yelled at my kids once since Monday afternoon  (I usually hear myself yell over any little thing when I am bogged down the way I have been).

I hope and pray that his tumour was benign and he recovers quickly.

Bad News like this needs some positive outcome to balance it out. Only time will tell what that will be.  I'm hoping it goes something like this:

Husband recovers quickly, the kids are all more resilient for the upheaval they've been through and my friend and her hubby realise how wonderful their life is and grab every opportunity that comes along.

Wouldn't that be wonderful?