Yesterday was one of those days Mama allegedly warned me about. The truth is, my mother wasn't one to warn me about much of anything. She preferred to let me figure things out the hard way. But that's a whole 'nother story.
From the minute I woke up yesterday, everybody I interacted with, in real life and online, seemed to have chosen violence. Not literally. But figuratively.
Needing a quick reality check, I called my dear sister from another mister. She blamed it on Mercury being in retrograde. I was all set to blame the planets until Google reminded me Mercury went direct last week. On my birthday, no less.
Hmmm. So much for my astrological alibi. Isn’t it ironic... don’tcha think?
The only person I ran into who seemed genuinely happy yesterday was the budtender who kindly helped me at the dispensary. And saved me $20 in the process.
Bless the budtenders. They’re basically therapists with recreational meds.
Normally, I can let other people’s moods roll right off my back. Yesterday, though, my emotional support Teflon was apparently in the dishwasher.
Every sigh felt personal. Every delayed and deserted text felt like a rejection. Every “Hey, can you help me with something?” sounded suspiciously like, “This isn’t my problem. This is your problem, Clint.”
By lunchtime, I had reached my daily recommended allowance of humanity.
So I did what any responsible adult would do: I had myself a couple of THC edibles. Later, I added a few puffs from a THC vape because, apparently, yesterday required a higher dose than usual for me to chill the fuck out.
For the record, I try not to overindulge during work hours. But when one too many people seem convinced I’m on call 24/7 for their every forgotten password, error message, and/or television that won’t play nice with Substack, my self-care requires some herbal remedies.
Thankfully, somewhere between the gummy and the vape, I started wondering if maybe nobody was actually mad at me. Maybe everyone was just carrying around invisible backpacks full of stress, deadlines, family drama, financial worries, existential dread, and whatever nonsense the so-called “news” cooked up that morning.
Or maybe...it was just too fucking hot. Yesterday flirted with 100 degrees.
Heat has a funny way of shortening everyone’s fuse. Patience evaporates faster than a puddle on asphalt. Little inconveniences become major catastrophes. WiFi slows down. Air conditioners work overtime. People snap.
Including me.
One thing I've noticed as I've gotten older is that I'm getting better at recognizing when I'm absorbing everyone else's energy. The harder part is remembering I don't have to carry it.
Someone else's bad day doesn't have to become mine. Sometimes the healthiest thing I can do is step away from the screen, hydrate, have a gummy, take a deep breath, and remember that tomorrow is another day.
Today is supposed to be "cooler," which in Southern California means we're only roasting in the low 90s instead of slow-cooking at 100. The morning breeze does feel noticeably cooler.
Today already feels lighter. My inbox is quieter. My patience, with myself and everyone else, seems to have returned from wherever it wandered off to yesterday. And I'm reminded that life, like the weather, tends to change if you give it enough time.
Whatever the reason, I’m grateful.
Because “Mama Said” is correct: Sometimes there really are days like yesterday.
And sometimes you have to roll with the punches. Without punching a bitch.
Keep calm and look for the good!
Clint 🌈✌️
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FROM THE ARCHIVES
NSFW MONTAGES = On Substack
SFW MONTAGES = On YouTube
BORN THIS WAY ON THIS DAY
07-28 = Alexis Arquette (1969-2016) = American actor 🌈
07-28 = Imke Duplitzer (1975- ) = German épée fencer 🌈
07-28 = Judy Grahn (1940- ) = American poet 🌈
07-28 = Marcel Duchamp (1887-1968) = French-American artist 🌈
07-28 = Sarah Schulman (1958- ) = American write and historian 🌈
MAN CRUSH OF THE DAY
“I have forced myself to contradict myself in order to avoid conforming to my own taste.”
Marcel Duchamp
Turning dreck into treasure, you are. And your musical choices are so brilliant! Some days, I have to go entirely transcendental. Other days, I forget everything I ever learned about living well, and just suffer inelegantly. Breathe in, breathe out. Repeat. Full attention on just being there. Repeat. Oh, if only I remembered to do that! As I told a good friend who has too many issues all the time, sometimes you have to reason from the effect to the cause. You can't start out by imagining causes. Stay cool!
Clint,
I giggled when you said, "She preferred to let me figure things out the hard way. But that's a whole 'nother story." My mind converted that to "But that's a whole 'mother story." Mothers are amazing people , for beter or worse, a unique group.
https://youtu.be/8Tls-55Q5Bo
I know those days when the world seems to suck and my life seems to succk and I would like to crawl into my mother's lap and cry (or scream) and my mom has been gone for 16 years now as has any other family member that might piss me off with being nice or judgemental.
One of the things I enjoy about your posts is that you start off with a complaint or description of a lack, etc. and then you end up with all the lessons you have learned, the changes you have or know you need to make, and the sun usually comes out and shines on you! You deserve the sunshine!
Fondly, Michael