And the light went on

A few weeks ago, as I was, once again, wondering why the door wasn't closed as I had requested on numerous occasions, I had an epiphany.

You see, in the perfect world inside my head, all the interior doors in the house would be left open for ventilation and heat flow and the door to the outside would be closed to keep out flies and other unwanted creatures that didn't fit through the cat flap (or turn the handle and walk in uninvited). But, alas, it seems that the very opposite is my reality.

And as I was standing there pondering that very situation, it hit me...

It hit me like a ton of bricks. And it made sense to my logical and ordered mind. I realized that 'it is what it is' and I fully understood the meaning of the phrase.

We all think differently and are capable of different concepts. I cannot change that. And the world won't end if everybody doesn't think like me. Of course, I am not convinced that it wouldn't be a better place if everybody thought like I do, but you can't have everything. It is what it is.

For example, if I were to be cranky about the toilet seat being left up (and Hubby can verify that I am NOT and this is simply an example) I would have, in the past, gotten a bit self-righteous and wondered why this simple thing was not always done, as it is not brain surgery. I would have envisioned gathering all the menfolk and demonstrating the simplicity of lowering the seat as a courtesy to the womenfolk (that would be me).

But now, I'm just glad that they feel comfortable enough in the house to be themselves.

If the towels are not put on the hooks to dry as I would like them to be, I simply tell myself that, at least, they know to keep themselves looking and smelling decent for the world and I don't have to nag them to get clean.

When the fingerprints are hard to get off the walls, I now appreciate that we all have our places in the family and the family is home to put the prints on the wall. We are together every night..

Now, instead of wondering why the world doesn't think of me first (*wrist to forehead and swoon slightly*) I try to have more positive thoughts about others. And realize that they just don't think like I do.

At the end of the day, it's not about him or him or her or me. At our house, it's about family.