Keep Calm And….

It’s quite fitting that this particular post is centered around keeping calm and doing something; especially now. There has been turmoil in the world for a while now and it’s recently come to our doorstep. Never a good thing even when we are sitting comfortably far away from the where the danger actually lies. But suddenly things are a lot more real. They used to be restricted thousands of miles away between Russia-Ukraine or Israel-Palestine. Now it’s U-S. And that’s scary.

In 1939, the British government brought out motivational posters to keep up the morale of the troops and the citizenry. The original posters said, ” Keep Calm and Carry On” and were intended to keep the people alert and active during the blitz. Over time they became a meme that spans anything that requires one to actively be reminded to Keep Calm.

I have my own reasons for not being capable of keeping calm. My child is writing his final exams at the first major academic crossroad of his life. In the midst of the ups and downs that come with trying to be a supportive parent while being a realistic one (essentially saying, “Never mind whatever happens, it’ll be fine” to wanting to say, “Flunking isn’t an option that can be exercised”), my head is bombarded with the news of missiles, ceasefires, enemy nations and whatnot.

And that’s a tricky path to navigate. And when there are too many things where I control the outcome to a minuscule or nonexistent amount, I turn to the mundane and boy are they a blessing! Because no matter what’s going down in the world, you will ALWAYS need clean clothes. And washed laundry will always need to be hung out, picked up, folded, ironed and put back in the proper place.

So my course of action over the last few days has been this…KEEP CALM and DO LAUNDRY! And it’s been a game changer. If TO’s gloomy about something that didn’t go well and I’ve cheered him as much as I can and it’s still a down-in-the-dumps kind of situation then the food stains, collars and cuffs get all my angst and emerge cleaner than they have in a while.

If the news of civilian and military casualties is getting to be very depressing and that’s all what is around me, the sheets get an extra hard and loud snap while being hung out or folded; and the emotion passes for that moment.

The mundane gets a bad rep. It’s what we all fall back on when life gets too overwhelming and feels out of control. Because you can always count on the mundane. It’s not fun, it’s not exciting. But it remains the same. And it’s very comforting at a time when not many things are.

Nuff said.