Inner Strength

We were traveling last week, and I plan on filling y’all in on how that went as we took our two youngest grandkids camping at Silver Dollar City: amid record-high gas prices and potentially record-high heat. And, yes, I have lost the last marble in my wee brain as it just rolled down into the air conditioning vent.

So I am sharing the following little essay, and I believe you will thank me for it later. It is not from my head or my hands, but is from my collection of favorite things. Get a kleenex before you start reading this; you may need it.

Inner Strength

If you can start the day without caffeine or pep pills, If you can be cheerful, ignoring aches and pains,

If you can be cheerful, ignoring aches and pains,

If you can resist complaining and boring people with your troubles,

If you can eat the same food everyday and be grateful for it,

If you can understand when loved ones are too busy to give you time,

If you can overlook when people take things out on you when, through no fault of yours, something goes wrong,

If you can take criticism and blame without resentment,

If you can face the world without lies and deceit,

If you can conquer tension without medical help,

If you can relax without liquor,

If you can sleep without the aid of drugs, If you can do all these things, then...

If you can do all these things, then...

You are probably the family dog.