Happy tears
A close friend of mine works in pest control. During one of the jobs today, she was attacked by a swarm of wasps. Despite her full safety gear, they managed to sting her many times.
It was quite a shocking experience, lying in the corner of a cramped attic without a way to escape. Luckily, it all turned out okay in the end. She got out, got medicine, and called the office to tell them to reschedule the other jobs.
When she called and told me what had happened and how she handled it, I let her know how impressed I was. I can only imagine what a wreck I would’ve been after such an incident.
Then we got to talking about how it would’ve gone only a year ago. Just like me, she has a history of being diagnosed with anxiety and was on sick leave for several months.
If today’s event had occurred around that time, it would’ve been a total disaster. This time she handled it by the book. I got happy tears in my eyes when we talked, and I get them now when writing this.
We all go through hard times in life, and somehow we manage to move on. We learn, we grow stronger, we get better at handling whatever life throws at us the next time.
Looking back at where we were just a year or two ago, realizing how much we’ve developed, is a great reminder when we start doubting ourselves. It brings enough comfort and confidence to even allow ourselves to shed some happy tears in public.