Why does life contain so many mini-dramas?
I’m getting to the point where I’m starting to dread the question, “How’s it going?”
And it’s not because things are particularly bad for me. It’s just that whenever the answer to that question is expanded beyond a word or two lately it ends up being so complicated.
Take Friday for example. My boss at my day job managed to get himself fired.
Drama.
My plans for Friday and the weekend – out the window.
Today we’ll have the regional manager in town (he was in Friday for the firing too), a guy from another office to help out, and we’ll be meeting our prospective new boss. There will be as many people at our office from out of town as we have local folks.
One guess on how much actual work I’ll get done today. 
Drama.
2007 has been an interesting year so far.
- Our office secretary passed away
- We hired a new secretary
- Co-worker was fired in an office of 5 people
- My father-in-law passed away
- My boss was fired
And the year isn’t even half over yet.
Drama. Drama. Drama.
Oh, and I’m leaving Thursday for Chicago. Something about a conference. 
Yes I’ll be at SOBCon. That was one of the first conversations I had with the powers that be after Friday’s particular drama. I’m going.
And please don’t think I’m whining. I sure don’t mean to come off that way.
It is just that life can be so messy sometimes. It sure has a way of not working out the way we envisioned at times.
My wife and I were talking this weekend about how grateful we are that our own problems are so minor compared to so many in this world around us.
Sure my job keeps finding new and unusual ways to infringe on “my” time. But the good news is that this is only a season.
All of us go through seasons like this at times.
And if you get to the point where like me you find yourself embarrassed by the drama, hold on. Know that it is only a season. It wasn’t always like this. And, in the wise words of Chuck Noland,
I know what I have to do now. I gotta keep breathing. Because tomorrow the sun will rise. And who knows what the tide could bring?
Life has the strange ability to change on a dime. And in ways that we can never imagine. For the better or for the worse.
And sometimes life is even just ordinary, everyday, run of the mill, drama.
Yeah, Chris, as a preacher friend of mine was fond of saying; “These things have come to pass – not come to stay!”
Hey Chris,
You are so right… life is all about change! I think the key is to be centered – like being in the eye of a storm. Chaos may be happening all around us, but as long as we can stay centered we can ride through the changes with grace and dignity. Sending you some positive energy to ride through this season.
Life in the workplace has some of the most dramatic influences on people emotionally, due to an employee’s family security and lifestyle actually riding on ‘what happens next’. Anyone can give any advice to go in any direction.
Rock on, brother. Optimism is a force-multiplier. If your positive attitude only lifts another’s from negative to glum, this may make all the difference in the world.
I used to elaborate when people asked me “how are you?” Then I realized that my life is also full of drama & I should just stick to “fine”
Sarkastic, I guess we have to use our judgment when people ask. Do they really want to know or are they just saying, “Hello” using more words?
It’s so sad that ‘fine’ has become the standard response to the question. There are so few people that care about you enough to actually hear the truth about how you are doing, and i often wonder why people even ask anymore.
I wonder why some people handle drama so much better than i seem able to. I mean, i don’t freak out, but i do get instantly stressed and end up loosing sleep. I think i’m doing something wrong here. Hmmm. One day at a time i guess. And you’re right….This too shall pass.
C.R.E.N., I think, like Sarkastic said, the abbreviated answer is a result of too many people asking without really wanting to know. I know I am guilty of that from time to time.
There are times when I notice my mind wandering when someone is talking to me and I have to check myself. It can be hard to care sometimes because we all have drama in our lives.