Recently I experienced an emotional funk. It happens occasionally, and my “symptoms” are generally the same: I feel like crying or lashing out with little provocation; the annoying behaviors of the people I care most about – which I usually just deal with – are suddenly beyond my ability to tolerate. I feel a little lost. And I feel a lot of guilt. So many of my friends are dealing with major challenges. Real issues. Life-altering issues. Yet here I am indulging the mental tantrums and hissy fits of my inner toddler.
I reached into my arsenal of funk-fighting strategies: I stocked up on ice cream – Haagen Dazs Crispy Trio Vanilla and Caramel and Ben & Jerry’s Oat of this Swirled (oatmeal is healthy!) I escaped into a few novels – some fluff, some literary – and zoned out with Happy Color (a time-sucking paint-by-numbers app.) I apologized repeatedly to God for being such a self-absorbed ingrate. And I visited a trusted friend who allowed me to spew all my angst and petty frustrations without judgment, and who provided just the right amounts of sympathy and empathy.
When my monologue finally wound down, my friend commented that when life has been on overdrive for an extended amount of time, and then suddenly there’s a lull, sometimes we kind of cave in on ourselves. During the next 24 hours, I mulled over that observation. And then I clearly heard in my brain Suck it up, Buttercup. It’s not a sentence I would use to impart its message – I’m more of a put-on-your-big-girl-panties or pull-your-head-out-of-your-[bottom] type. But that’s the expression that kept popping into my mind, so…
I looked up buttercups on the internet. Turns out there’s over 200 varieties of these cheery, simple flowers, but they are poisonous to humans if eaten unless they are thoroughly dried out. (Who knew someone might want to eat them?) They can symbolize some lovely attributes like humility, neatness, friendship, and charm, but they can also symbolize less attractive characteristics such as childishness, ingratitude, or unfaithful behavior. It’s fair to say I have qualities from both sides of the symbolic petals.
I’m thinking Suck it up, Buttercup might be the perfect slogan to remind myself to put on my big girl panties and pull my head out of my [bottom] when my inner toddler starts making too much noise. So today, after perusing magnets, mugs, and other gift-type items that display my newly adopted mantra, I ordered a bracelet bearing that message – written in Morse Code. My inner tween is thrilled!
#growingup, #suckitupbuttercup, #getoverit
I reached into my arsenal of funk-fighting strategies: I stocked up on ice cream – Haagen Dazs Crispy Trio Vanilla and Caramel and Ben & Jerry’s Oat of this Swirled (oatmeal is healthy!) I escaped into a few novels – some fluff, some literary – and zoned out with Happy Color (a time-sucking paint-by-numbers app.) I apologized repeatedly to God for being such a self-absorbed ingrate. And I visited a trusted friend who allowed me to spew all my angst and petty frustrations without judgment, and who provided just the right amounts of sympathy and empathy.
When my monologue finally wound down, my friend commented that when life has been on overdrive for an extended amount of time, and then suddenly there’s a lull, sometimes we kind of cave in on ourselves. During the next 24 hours, I mulled over that observation. And then I clearly heard in my brain Suck it up, Buttercup. It’s not a sentence I would use to impart its message – I’m more of a put-on-your-big-girl-panties or pull-your-head-out-of-your-[bottom] type. But that’s the expression that kept popping into my mind, so…
I looked up buttercups on the internet. Turns out there’s over 200 varieties of these cheery, simple flowers, but they are poisonous to humans if eaten unless they are thoroughly dried out. (Who knew someone might want to eat them?) They can symbolize some lovely attributes like humility, neatness, friendship, and charm, but they can also symbolize less attractive characteristics such as childishness, ingratitude, or unfaithful behavior. It’s fair to say I have qualities from both sides of the symbolic petals.
I’m thinking Suck it up, Buttercup might be the perfect slogan to remind myself to put on my big girl panties and pull my head out of my [bottom] when my inner toddler starts making too much noise. So today, after perusing magnets, mugs, and other gift-type items that display my newly adopted mantra, I ordered a bracelet bearing that message – written in Morse Code. My inner tween is thrilled!
#growingup, #suckitupbuttercup, #getoverit
Bracelet created by SassyLLC on Etsy
