Motivational Monday #9 - Don't Cry Over Spilled Milk

Crying over spilled milk always confused me.  As a child I could never figure out why anyone would cry over food.  As an adult I realize the saying may have a deeper meaning.

A few weeks ago, one of my kids spilled his water across the table, soaking the place mat, the pile of napkins, and his plate of food.  You name it, it was soaked.  His face crumpled and I thought, wow, he is going to cry over spilled milk! What is that all about??

It was then that I realized he was crying for a few reasons.  First, he was upset that he didn't have any more water, so he was mourning a loss.  Second, he was angry that he had made a huge mess he now needed to clean up, so he was mourning the extra work.  Lastly, he was expressing dismay at the abrupt change in his plans, so he was mourning his loss of control of the situation.

Wow!  Who knew so much could happen when a cup tipped over?

You may be wondering why I added this to a Motivational Monday post, as it seems more depressing than motivational, but here it is:  We all have things unexpectedly go wrong in our lives.  Cups tip, things get soaked and messes are made.  Sometimes it is our fault, but more often than not we are left to clean up after the spilled milk of others.  We all have a choice in this matter, and you can choose to be upset, or you can choose to move forward.

Spilled milk can be so many things, it can be a mess made, it can be the loss of something you wanted/needed.  Spilled milk can be a small thing or a huge thing, it is just something you can do nothing to reverse.

Today I choose to get over it...and go buy another gallon of milk.