Goodbye Grumpiness, The Twenty-Second Week in the Second Year of the New Abnormal

I noticed that by the end of my work week I was short on compassion. My go to was frustration, impatience, or barely disguised anger. It was simple things. I was missing paperwork that had been promised me. A pair of reading glasses broke. Or it was a string of simple annoyances.

I thoughtfully ordered a huge container of white vinegar and a large box of kosher salt to minimize the growth of bamboo, an invasive species, from our garden. I was already annoyed that our neighbor’s bamboo had crept into our plot of land. And I was aggravated that the two separate (un)handy people did a poor job of weeding out the bamboo. But now the very heavy package was not delivered to my office but was left at the post office for me to pick up. I was complaining about this to a friend while walking, and she listened without judgement, making me smile even while I was grumpy.

I went to retrieve the box, first having to stop by my office to get a cart to roll there…