The Glad Game

If you've ever seen or read Pollyanna you'll know what I'm talking about. It's on my list of things to make my children do before I die, even though it was written almost 100 years ago, and the latest movie version is the 1960 Hayley Mills version (think the old Parent Trap at girls camp movie).

I read and watched Pollyanna when I was just a little girl, and I loved it. I loved her eternal optimism, and the part where she tells about where the glad game came from. (I'm also getting warm fuzzy feelings about vague memories of her falling out of the tree and breaking legs, the Sunday evening meal, the whole town coming to visit as she's carried downstairs, then her whole town waving goodbye at the trainstation, and the pretty light patterns made from hanging crystals... will have to re-read.) I wish I had a copy with me I could quote the story from, but her and her father used to be very poor, and the only things they got basically were from the church chest. One day she was thrilled to get the church chest, hoping there was a doll inside, but all there was was a pair of crutches. As she got upset, her dad invented the Glad Game - finding something to be glad about in every single situation. When she asked what there was to possibly be glad about, he said they could be glad that they got the crutches, because they didn't need them!

I have enjoyed this game on my own and sometimes to the torment of those around me for as long as I can remember, and luckily for you, today is a Glad Game sort of day, and I'm going to start us off:

1. I am glad our air-conditioning unit at work has broken down when it's 29 degrees celcius (84.2F), because it's helping me to appreciate air conditioning. I've never really been in a sauna at all before, let alone for this long.
2. I am glad that it's only 29 degrees today - it could be worse... I could actually be in an oven...
3. I am glad that I picked today of all days to bring my own leftoever dinner hot lunch in, because it helped me to appreciate the frozen yoghurt Brodi bought me for lunch dessert, when I don't normally like ice-cream because it's too cold!
4. I am glad that I have absolutely nothing to do today at work other than answer the occassional phone call, because it's helping me have no desire to have a loafing job, and be more and more excited about starting my new official primary school teaching job next week. Also, because I am sitting doing nothing, and sweating. Imagine how much I would be sweating if I were moving more than just my fingers!!!
5. I am glad that the chocolate Freddo Frog in the drawer behind me only half melted in our office-sauna, because I can still eat it without getting chocolate all over me and looking suspiciously unprofessional when clients come in.
6. I am glad that I seem to have hay fever or allergies for the first time in my life, or I still can't shake the flu I had a couple of weeks ago, because it makes me so grateful for the most of my life when I am perfectly health and strong and non-sniffly :)
7. I am glad that I have to work while my wonderful husband has the afternoon off so we can't hang out, because I just called him to say 'hi' and he's scrubbing the walls of our spare room, having noticed while putting new sheets on the bed and cleaning up, that they had some marks. How cute his he?! :)

I am glad for other things that don't take as much effort to be glad for too, but that's my start to the Glad Game today - see if you can turn something around too! :)

xo