#i want a cup of coffee and biscuit to dunk in it so badly right now

[alasarys]

Road to Monaco – café

[loula-bear]

You might be having a bad day because of one (or more) things listed below:

1. Having a runny nose

2. Call from unknown numbers

3. Being left on hold when calling a company

4. Receiving a ‘we missed you’ card for a failed parcel delivery

5. People who ignore queuing etiquette

6. Having no WiFi

7. Having to pay 5p to carry your own shopping home

8. Door-to-door salespeople

9. Having a bad phone signal

10. Not being able to find the end of the sellotape

11. Having to stand on public transport

12. Wanting to log into an account but being unable to remember the password

13. Not finding anything you like when clothes shopping

14. Having to use a tin opener when the tin doesn’t have a ring pull

15. No-one replaced the toilet roll

16. Running out of milk

17. Online deliveries arriving late

18. Unexpected items in the bagging area at self-checkouts

19. Dunking a biscuit and losing half of it in the cup of tea

20. Satsumas that have loads of pips in

21. Blisters from new shoes

22. Not being able to fast forward live TV

23. Your neighbour parking outside your house when they already have more parking space than you

24. When public transport doesn’t turn up on time 

25. A Sky+ recording clash 

26. Tea going cold

27. A wardrobe full of clothes but nothing to wear

28. Hotels with plug sockets too far from the mirror / bed

29. Not having 4G signal, merely 3G

30. Sitting in front of or near children on a plane

31. Forgetting your gloves on a cold day

32. Crème eggs not being on sale all year round

33. Takeaway takes too long to be delivered

34. Important emails go into the junk folder

35. Having so much ice in a drink you can’t get to the actual drink

36. When there is a power cut and you can’t watch TV or make a cup of tea

37. Deliveries or meter reading visits at awkward times

38. It’s freezing outside but boiling in the office

39. Having to package up and return clothes you bought online and don’t want

40. Chipped nail polish

41. Running out of hot water

42. Ladders in tights

43. Leaving the phone charger at home

44. Shop assistant giving you coins instead of a note as change

45. Wine / tea / coffee staining your teeth

46. Tea that is over-brewed and has scum at the top

47. Long queue in the coffee shop

48. Not having matching bed linen and towels

49. The taxi driver arrives late

50. A pulled muscle after exercise

You might be having a bad day because your hair got ruined in the wind. Or maybe you picked and outfit that you don't feel good in. Perhaps you couldn't get that top you wanted so badly or maybe you missed the train and you're running late.

I did not moan this morning whilst I waited in the long que in the coffee shop - I still got my coffee in under five minutes. I did not moan this morning when I realised my nails were chipped - I made arrangements to get them re-done. I did not moan this morning when my train was late and I received a call from an unknown number - I waited on the next train and ignored the call.

But I did however, wish with everything I had that my mother was cured of her terminal cancer. I wished and prayed that she was fixable, and broke my heart trying to hold back floods of tears, knowing fine well that no amount of wishes or prayers could stop my mother from dying.

You can get another cup of tea if it has went cold. You can get another hair appointment if you miss it. You can get another phone if you smash it. But I won't get another Mother. I won't get another hug or another smile. I won't get another phone call or text message. I won't get another row or another argument.

It is not until you are faced with the unimaginable that you realise how the world is blissfuly ignorant and innocently deranged. We happily complain unnecessarily about relatively trivial matters and refuse to take blame for our brainwashed personalities. It is the norm to be angered, stressed or upset over a minor, fixable issue. It is not until you are faced with the unimaginable that you realise how frustrating it is to be alive in this disgustingly shameful world we have created (and become accustomed to) today.

Please, I plead you not to stress over the smaller, trivial problems in life. Instead count your blessings and be thankful that ALL of these things are fixable. I can guarantee that NONE of these things really matter when it's time to say goodbye.

My mother, despite her ongoing (mental and physical) battle aims to live the rest of her short life that she has left by ' The Desiderata' - a very fitting poem by max Hermann that I would like to share with you:

"Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons.

Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others,

even to the dull and ignorant; they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter,

for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

Keep interested in your own career, however humble;

it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery.

But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;

many persons strive for high ideals,

and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love;

for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.

Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.

But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.

Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars;

you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you,

no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be.

And whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life,

keep peace with your soul. With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams,

it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy."

Hug your mother tight tonight and thank God that your hair can be restyled and your outfit can be changed. Thank God that there will be more tops you probably like better.

Thank God that you were lucky enough to have only missed your train this morning. Thank God that your problems are fixable.