Tonight I was feeling a bit on the depressed side. For four months I’ve been dealing with a health issue. It’s not serious, but it’s always there. I’m just so tired of never feeling 100% great. Anyway, I was feeling sorry for myself and knew I needed to pull myself out of the funk I was in before I started to cry.
I remembered that last week I had seen an origami frog that I knew my seven-year-old would enjoy making with me and playing with so I told him I was going to make a paper frog with him.
First I cut a piece of scrapbook paper into four six-inch squares, and we went to work. It would have been easier with origami paper because the scrapbook paper did get hard to fold after a while, but we did it.
Of course, once I helped Micah then his two little brothers each wanted a frog so I had to make two more. Then they all sat around the table happily making their frogs jump all over the place.
Then it was time for a story. I chose the Pied Piper of Hamelin. I know, not the cheeriest story if you’re feeling down, but I knew that the boys had been looking at the pictures a lot lately and trying to figure the story out.
I’d forgotten how advanced some of the words are. From time to time I would stop and explain something to Micah, but mostly I just let the words flow over us. The story is a poem, and I always enjoy reading poems out loud. Here’s a bit of the story…
And out of the houses the rats came tumbling.
Great rats, small rats, lean rats, brawny rats,
Brown rats, black rats, grey rats, tawny rats,
Grave old plodders, gay young friskers,
Fathers, mothers, uncles, cousins,
Cocking tails and pricking whiskers,
Families by tens and dozens,
Brothers, sisters, husbands, wives —
Followed the Piper for their lives.
From street to street he piped advancing,
And step for step they followed dancing,
Until they came to the river Weser
Wherein all plunged and perished!
Not a cheery story, for sure, but just having my little guys cuddled up to me listening and letting the words roll off my tongue helped to make me feel better.
So – if you’re feeling down a great help is to bless someone else. Tonight my children received that blessing, but they also lifted my spirits so it was a win-win all around.
What do you do when you’re feeling down?
Intentional Simplicity 
You probably know what I do 😉 – can you guess LOL – I’m always singing!
I was not so much down as frustrated on the way to church yesterday as I was on hold (using Pierre’s cell) with our cell phone carrier – never fun thing to do haha. I must have sounded frustrated because Tim asked, “Mom are you having a good day.”
I said, “Yes, Tim I am having a good day.” Then, I paused and thought (and said to him), “because every day is a good day when you are a Christian!” It really hit Pierre and I and started a discussion on the way to church about our blessings.
Pierre told the kids a couple of mornings ago in our family devotions that they should stop and count their blessings when they are frustrated or upset and they will realize how small the problem really is.
All encouraging things to think about.
You can do this – your health – God is in control :), sis and just keep working on it. I’m having allergy issues or something this week so I could say the same thing to myself :).
Love ya – and love that loopy curl on Jonah!
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I like to play the piano to make me feel better, but two little boys then think what I really want is to play duets. So, yeah, that doesn’t work. 🙂
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ahhh – tell them to sing while you play 🙂
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I sometimes have those days when I am ‘in a funk’ but I also have days where I really have to work hard not to get sucked into depression. You are right on spot with advising us to do something for others! Getting outside of myself and doing something that blesses another often helps me even more than it helps them. Have tendencies toward depression myself, I’ve been grateful to have a family that depends on me, sometimes that’s what gets me up and going.
I’m going to make these frogs with my kids this week, thank you!
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I know what you mean about being thankful for your family to get yourself going. Some days my children are the only reason I can keep moving forward.
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