So I was getting ready to start a pretty important day the other day and had made myself some peanut butter toast to eat at the office. I also put some sweet French vanilla creamer in my empty coffee cup and started walking for the office and that coffee machine.

Now this sounded like a good plan, until you take into account the fact that my paper plate with freshly made peanut butter toast was balanced masterfully on top of the notebook in my right hand as I walked. The cup with creamer in the bottom was in my left.

I’m sure you can guess what happened next and I can still see it replay in slow motion in my head. That paper plate slid off of that book and landed perfectly on the floor. Upside down that is! To top it off, as it was happening, I lunged forward and attempted to catch the falling plate, leaning forward slightly and spilling some of the creamer on the floor as well.

Rachelle quickly took notice and walked across from the kitchen towards me. She was not laughing at me this time, thank God, but was actually sympathetic and offered to make me more toast.

The mind races at such times. I paused while wrestling with lots of internal feelings and thoughts of what kind of day it was going to be. To be more specific, I immediately thought, Well this is gonna be a heck of a bad day!

And then I realized what I had just done. I had for a moment, let a 15 second window of time and a small accident determine the next 14 hours of my day. Then I thought that’s pretty crazy really. Am I going to let some spilled creamer and upside down peanut butter toast determine my entire day?

Just thinking that way out loud for a moment made me giggle.

I turned to Rachelle and said, Please let the dog have my peanut butter toast. I know he’ll love it. Thanks for the offer to make me more, but I don’t suppose I should have that this morning. But I will take a kiss and get on to work.

Then I did just that. I kissed her for a moment and we held each other while she smiled at me. Then I went to the office with my remaining French vanilla creamer and jacked up on coffee for the rest of the morning.

And you know what? The rest of the day turned out to be pretty good after all!

I was reminded that so much of life is 10% of what happens to us, and 90% of how we respond to those events.

So yeah, I guess the saying is right. Don’t cry over spilled milk¦ and upside down peanut butter toast.