Oh Well

I have made a discovery that is going to change your life! That’s right. I would like to share with you, my blog reader, two words that will make your existence on Planet Earth so much more peaceful than you could ever imagine.

Are you hooked? I am not going to sell you Snake Oil or some other kind of miracle drug. I am just going to present you will two simple words that, if used properly, can make every day’s worries fly away like a feather in the wind. (Picture the end of Forrest Gump.)

So here they are: “Oh well.” That’s it. “Oh, well.” You can use the comma and pause between oh and well or not. Punctuation, emotional tone and emphasis are strictly user driven. But let me explain the uses and benefits of “Oh, well.”

If you happen to be in a heat wave, as many of us in the US of A are, and you don’t have air conditioning in your house, you may be tempted to complain and even rant through the sweat-induced fog covering your eyes. And say that last night your bedroom’s fan, (an enormous monstrosity of a fan because your bedroom is the hottest place in the house – imagine an Indian sweat lodge within a condo,) broke at 4 a.m. and your husband and you had to sleep in your living room with all the windows open. You may be tempted to have a bit of an attitude. But you don’t need to get all riled up and make it worse. Oh no. Just say the following: “I don’t have air conditioning and it is 101 degrees outside. I don’t have air conditioning and my high powered fan broke. Oh, well.”

Did you see that? Such power. Those words can turn your entire world around. Acceptance floods your soul and somehow your sweat dries up. Well, sorta.

What if your car’s radiator happens to blow up? I mean, completely blow up. You could find yourself uttering words your mama told you never to utter. You could find yourself blaming the person who sold you the car years ago. OR, you could use the two words that have power to change attitudes. “My car’s radiator just blew up. Oh well.” (No comma or pause there.)

Hey, how about if you happen to have a nine-year-old who has been with you all summer for almost 24 hours a day non-stop? Say you love the precious boy with all your heart but his face is not as welcome into your happy soul as it used to be. Like when he was in school part of the day. And say that wonderful little son of your heart grows a little attitude of familiarity with you and starts to treat you like a friend and not a mom. Say, you start having visions of putting a lock on the outside of his bedroom door. Another day dream is the one where he goes to visit a friend and the friend’s mom calls and says, “We love your son so much. Can he just stay here until the end of the summer?”

You don’t have to battle your guilt as you start putting X’s on the calendar counting down to the first day of school as if it was your last day of prison. You don’t have to.
Just look at the boy and sum up those two words, “Oh well.”

Not that these are my problems. Oh no. Well, actually. I have deleted names to protect the innocent…or guilty.

“Oh well” is not only an attempt to accept the things you can’t change, it is also a prayer. Maybe God is doing something within me that needs to be done. And the only way for Him to do it is through a massive heat wave with a huge fan breakdown, a dark explosion of radiator gas, and a sweaty, goofy little boy who has made button-pushing his favorite summer sport.

What can I say to the Creator of the Universe’s schemes to make me what He wants?

Oh well.