A Bad Day and Small Mercies

I could argue that the worst kind of bad day is one when you are not only hurting, not only wanting to kick yourself for being an idiot, but you have in the process made yourself a burden to your friends. Sometimes it takes a friend to give you the proverbial kick in the pants, and the good ones will probably feel as bad for the kick as you do for having needed one.

And say my glory was, that I had such friends. - W.B. Yeats

Having that kind of day Saturday, I had the good fortune to have the kids out of the house for the night. Instead of wallowing in despair, I was strangely goded into action. I finally cleaned out and packed up the things left in the bedroom and bathroom by my exhusband. As I worked, I thought I would see what was on TV (I don't watch as much TV as recent posts might suggest). Just as I turned it on, TCM was about to broadcast Notorious.

This is the 1946 Notorious, with Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman, and the first film that Hitchcock both directed and produced. Movies don't get any better. You have to see Bergman telling Grant, "you can't beat a love song for a good laugh." The movie coming on at just the right moment, for me, is what I call a small mercy. It doesn't solve any problems, but it is like the universe (what I call God, but you may not) puts a hand on your shoulder and says you're ok, you're not alone. Even if you have been far from perfect.