Monday blues and my stressball

The sound of the alarm clock at 4am woke me up from a beautiful dream. I reached out for my husband, but he wasn't beside me anymore. I then remembered that he usually wakes up at 3:30am just to cook breakfast for us. Lucky me. I said a short silent prayer and went on with my routine. At past 5am, I was on my way to the office. Working in an organization that begins its office hours at 7am has its advantages. I don't experience the socalled rush hour and Manila traffic.

I usually anticipate what kind of a week I would have, but I also know that something unexpected often comes up during the week. This is the stuff that life as an international civil servant is made of. I do feel crazy sometimes and ask myself if this is what I really want. The stressball that I keep beside me with a smiley face often reminds me that I should be thankful that I am still gainfully employed. I will tell myself "Look at your stressball, even though you've pinched it thousands of times, it still gives you that smiley face". That's the right attitude. I have been tempted a lot of times to just give up and simply walk away from my job, but then, after 2 seconds, I usually change my mind and instead face the challenges head on, which I usually overcome. Afterwards I would realize things weren't as bad as I imagined them to be.

If only many of us would try to be like the "stressball", I guess our world would be much less complicated, and of course, more humane.