Some Days...

This morning my fourteen year-old groaned when I called him from the doorway of his room, "Today's going to be the worst day ever!" Deep down inside, I couldn't help but wonder if he was right, but I tried to maintain a positive tone of voice when I asked him why. "Mom, we start the day by going to church (Ash Wednesday, you know), then school where I have a standardized test that will last most of the morning, and after school gets out I have to go to the dentist." Then, like the line from one of my favorite children's books, my son stated strongly, "I HATE the Dentist!"  Truly he was anticipating a Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. 

"Some days are like that, even in Arlington," I thought.  I smiled, but kept that thought to myself.  Six-fifteen is a little early in the morning for literary allusion and witty repartee with this particular eighth grader.

Late this afternoon, he was chatty as we climbed back into the van to head home.  "Only 10 more minutes until I can eat - my fluoride treatment has to sit for 30 minutes.  It wasn't so bad, you know, my day.  We got out of church in 30 minutes, in time to get McDonald's for breakfast.  Then, I was done with the test in like 30 minutes and I read my book for almost two hours.  Finally, I didn't have any cavities and I don't have to go back to the dentist for another six months!"

"Awesome," I said, thrilled for him.

I'm so pleased that, despite his dread of this day, he was able to appreciate the silver lining and not brood on the negative. 

Thankfully, with teenagers it seems, some days are like this!