Thursday, April 10, 2008

Has anyone seen my yellow hat?

My husband says I'm travelling through life wearing a yellow hat. I'm optimistic and can see at least one positive aspect in just about any situation. I'm the one people turn to for pep talks and congratulations . . . cheering them through tough spots and consoling them for the truly dark times. We joke that he's going through life with a black hat. His sarcastic humor is almost directly opposite my sunny disposition, but we appreciate one another's different takes on life and end up with a fairly decent balance that helps us tackle situations that life throws our way. Though I often wish he would find a yellow hat to wear at least occasionally, we've come to respect that these are our personalities and that we can respect the insight one another's hats give to the other.

The problem is that when I woke up this morning, I couldn't find my yellow hat. I've looked all day, but it is nowhere to be found. I even put on a REAL yellow hat today (a gift from my husband, of course) in efforts to help me in my search. All I could find were my husband's back-up black hats. Maybe he took my yellow one to work by accident, but I truly doubt it.

Not sure what I'm talking about? Well, here's a snipit of the differences between the yellow hat and black hat outlooks on situations:

Work:
Yellow hat: Hmmmm. I've only gotten 2 emails so far today. It is mid-week, so I bet people are busy in meetings and will get back to me later today or tomorrow. That's fine! I'll go put in a load of laundry, run the dishwasher and make my bed. Maybe there'll be something to read after that - and my house will be cleaner in the meantime!
Black hat: WHAT? Only 2 emails? But I sent out a dozen or so that requested replies! Maybe I used the wrong words and they got stuck in a spam filter. Maybe my ideas stink and people are tired of me. I better check my email every 5 mintues, just to be sure. 2 mintues later: WHAT? Still NO messages?

Dishes:
Yellow hat: Geez. How do 4 people make such a mess? Well, if I keep at them, I can clean the counters and that'll make me feel better. I like clean counters. And if I can get the floor looking clean, we'll be set.
Black hat: More dishes? I forgot to run the dishwasher? It's no use; they're multiplying like bunnies. I give up. Someone else can do them.

Running:
Yellow hat: My blog is called Girl Who Loves to Run, so I better get going with this running stuff! Two runs/week is a good start, but with some planning, I can squeeze in a bit more. Well, a walk today is a step in the right direction. Not a run, but I'm getting back into the swing of it.
Black hat: With only one run this week, I should just throw in the towel.

Really, things are going better than I'm feeling today. In fact, if I force myself to sit and list out the good things, it is a nice list. There are really only a couple of frustrating things. But, I can't seem to get out from under the dark clouds today. UGH! I'm ready to find my balance and find my yellow hat!!!

If you've seen it, let me know. I'm feeling a bit lost without it.

7 comments:

E said...

Love the yellow hat mantra. Hope you find your yellow hat soon! :)

Steve Stenzel said...

Dang, good luck finding the hat. I'm the way you are, and I married a woman a bit like your man. Funny how we seem to fit with those black-hatters.

siobhan said...

Hang in there and keep looking on the bright side of things---you'll find it!!

J~Mom said...

I wish people would quit stealing the thoughts in my head. LOL This is another post I could have written. I am totally a yellow hat!! I tend to lose mine about once a month. *sigh*

Michelle said...

ugh. I had a black hat kind of day today, too. I hate those days.

Here's hoping we both get our yellow hats back for tomorrow !

healthystrider said...

Maybe you will find your yellow hat at your yoga class or on your next run!

Marcy said...

Do you have a kaleidescope hat? Because I think that's what I am LOL. My mood differs from one minutes to the next :-X Maybe that's just called a crazy hat instead LOL