There are some things in life that can't be fixed.

This has been an especially tough lesson for me to learn over the years, and it's one that I'm still grappling with. It's especially hard when life throws a curve ball at my loved ones, because I live so far away from most of them. I can't be there. I can't fix it.

It seems like all the stuff I read in the health magazines these days advocate "letting things go." Don't worry about anything, lest your brain cave in upon itself. Work stressing you out? Let it go. Kids driving you crazy? Let it go. All those things that you can't control, just let them go. Forget about it, go eat some ice cream, and everything will be OK.

Screw that. That's not how I function. I don't just worry about things. I fixate and stew until I get the problem solved. It drives my husband nuts, but that's how I get things done. Up yours, tranquility. I eat stress for breakfast.

Then comes along those things that can't be fixed. They are what they are and I can't do a damn thing about it. It's times like these that I sometimes wish I was one of those anti-worriers. I wish I could just let life wash over me and accept it for what it is. Maybe I wouldn't feel so helpless then.

But I don't like to let life happen; I like to make it happen. When life throws rocks at me, I tend to pick them up and throw them back. And when my loved ones are involved, I break out the catapults.


But what happens when the catapults don't work? What happens when you run out of rocks?

I guess at that point you just dig your trenches and hope for the best. And Lord, am I hoping.