those damn silver linings

when you're having a morning where you wake up and the first thing you hear is fighting,
when your children are arguing before they have even opened their eyes
when you walk into the kitchen in a bleary-eyed haze and there are dishes aplenty,
when your six year old is screaming and crying in frustration over homework, repeating "there's no point, there's no point"and howling in a ball, and won't talk to you or let you touch her
when the baby eats bark and covers herself in it, lovely wet bark
when you have a small car accident and it's your fault,
when your take-away coffee order takes way too long to be ready,
when that damn duck at the park just will not leave you alone, 
when you notice that the washing has multiplied over night...

when. it's time to look for the silver linings
the friend you made at the park, who accepted and laughed with your filthy baby
the helpful woman on the other end of the phone, when you're gasping in frustration
that patch of sunlight on the grass,
the look on your six year old's face when she sees you have framed some of her artwork
the hilarity of a duck being annoying
when your husband holds you in his arms and says "don't explain. I get it. "

Those are the silver linings. They exist, even on the darkest mornings, despite that sun being up in the sky shining it's warmth even when you refuse to feel it. It's there. You are not alone.

quack quack.