Have you ever heard the acronym for Q-TIP? Quit Taking It Personally
Boy oh boy, these days I could use a whole case of those magic little wands of soft cottony goodness. On the Q-tips website they proclaim:

“Your tool for beauty, first aid, arts & crafts, baby care, pet care and more.”

You ain’t kidding, Unilever. But can we add tween, teenage, & marital care as well? It’s so easy for the management of the family’s needs to take over my day. That’s fine. No worries. That’s what I’m here for… But then, from 2:45 pm on, one by one, the little crabapples walk through the back door. And one by one, they take their exhaustion and frustrations out on me. Really? Even after I spent a concerning amount of my day figuring out how everyone is going to get to their games, practices, and activities this week? Yer gonna sass me when I kindly remind you to get your soccer bag ready?
St. Francis teaches me that it’s more important to be understanding than understood. This phrase has healed many of my relationships. And I know that the road to understanding others is through having an awareness of why sometimes I’m more focused on my pain rather than their pain. In this case, it’s because I’m taking their natural response to a long tiring day personally. And when I’m exhausted myself, their attitude towards me can feel like a piercing subliminal message whispering, You’re not good enough.
I’m not planning on allowing myself to be treated like a party piñata by my cantankerous family on a daily basis. This is just a reminder that their issues with me have nothing to do with me. Q-TIP Mags. And just a reminder…

“If you can think it, you can do it with Q-tips”

Thank you, Q-tips. This is just the kind of encouragement I need. Now, and for like the next NINE years.

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