It is what it is

I am realizing that the phrase “it is what it is” has become my favorite phrase.  There are others too.  “this too shall pass”, “that which does not kill us makes us stronger” and “success is the best revenge”.   However, sometimes it just…is what it is. (I should probably be citing these quotes with a good old fashioned MLA citation, being the English teacher here, but I’m tired so bite me.)

Another good one is “when life gives you lemons, make lemonade” but I gave up the good juicer in the divorce so making lemons becomes more arduous than one might have remembered.  I loved that juicer.  It was the big silver one from William Sonoma that had the old fashioned handle that made things fun to squeeze.  It was like, two feet high and made juicing entertaining.  But I traded that in for some freedom and peace of mind, so my little plastic juicer will do just fine.  Plus, Dash likes fresh squeezed OJ and getting fruit into that little man is arduous as well, so I will squeeze with what I have.

So, if one doesn’t have the big William Sonoma juicer or access to a good Nietzsche quote, then what does one do?  Bathtub, shoes, chocolate, treadmill.  Well, not in that order.  But definitely treadmill after the chocolate.  Usually, I am lucky and stress causes nausea so I lose weight when I am stressed.  The treadmill is good because there is nothing better than sweating to loud angry music while releasing some well needed endorphins.  Greenday is perfect for this.  So are Christina Aguilera and surprisingly, Pittbull.  Loud, really, really loud, so as to drown out the objections and yelling in my own head.  Adele is playing now.  I like her.  Soulful. 

Drinking is out.  Well, milkshakes maybe, but then there will just be more treadmill.  Railing at god, yoga, mindless television and well, blogging seems to help.  I have always been a big proponent of writing things down to explain it to yourself.  No one needs to read it, it’s really just for you, but it is nice knowing people in Croatia, France and Malaysia will be sharing my experiences. 

Yelling at strangers is always good.  Driving in LA makes that really easy to achieve.  Customer service people at AT&T make that pretty easy as well.  Let’s face it, most “customer service” isn’t.  Although, I have learned if you are nice to customer service people, you tend to get whatever you need. Wouldn’t that be nice with all people…

You get to a point in your life where you realize you can’t run away from your problems and issues and anxiety.  You need to face it.  You need to deal with it in a pragmatic and positive way.  You need to tell yourself the universe will help you if you ask.  You need to be a grownup and own your issues.  No matter how crappy they are.  No matter if you have no idea what the outcome may be.  No matter what.  Icky-ness ownership comes with maturity.  Right?  Or I could just take a bubble bath and hope for a hug.

An old therapist of mine once told me, “you are going to feel this way until you are done feeling like this, so let yourself feel like this.”  Advice as good as “wear a sweater, you never know”.  So, I guess that means facing the icky stuff you really have no desire to face.  Dealing with it and moving on.  Not taking the world so personally and remembering that although there is crap in the world, there is some pretty great stuff as well.  Focus on the good stuff?  Right?  After all, it is what it is and no amount of shoe buying or milkshake drinking or treadmilling will make it go away.  It will make it easier to take, but in the end, being a grownup will win out.  At least on my end.

Okay, I’m done.  Going to make some lemonade and take a bubble bath.