My mother used to say, "no expectations, no disappointments" to me all of the time. She was a wise woman. Most of the times, I fondly remember her witticisms and listen to them (she would be so proud!). This time; however, I did not.
I will not share with you the details of the disappointment. What I will say is that I had high expectations for this experience and through a series of rather unfortunate events, I was not able to enjoy the experience. A million and 10 thoughts ran through my head. Most of them feeling sorry for myself if the truth be told. WHAT? Seriously? You? Feeling sorry for yourself? No way! Yes way. I'm human. Shit happens.
I thought about what this experience meant to me. I thought about how badly I wanted to participate. I thought about a whole week of adventures, relaxation, laughs, and memory making. The week turned out to be just the opposite and I did not handle it well. At all.
Today is the first day that I'm able to try to begin to find the silver linings in all of this. It's hard, trust me. The hurt, anger, and frustration keep rearing their ugly heads. It's okay to be angry, hurt, and frustrated. I keep telling myself that. I wonder how long it's going to be okay to feel this way. I guess I will have to wait and see.
The silver linings: I got a chance to read for pleasure, I spent some time with my "adopted" doggos, I crafted. Notice a pattern here? It was all things I "did." What I'm still trying to figure out is how this experience will change me and what the hell did I learn from it?
How do you deal with disappointment? How do you manage to "get over it?" (FYI -- I absolutely despise that statement) Are you able to see the silver linings? Are you able to identify the lessons you've learned from a shitty situation? How long does it take you to resolve the hurt, anger, and frustration?
Please know that this post is for YOU, my dear reader, to understand that disappointment happens. It's ok to feel those feelings. It's ok not to be able to find the lesson or silver lining right away. Let me know your thoughts.....
Until next time,
Dr. Jill