Ladies and Gentlemen, Start Your Engines....

Y'know, I'm a pretty positive person. But there are just some days that can really kick my trash. Yesterday was one of those days. It's not that anything devastatingly catastrophic happened. It's just all the little things that can sometimes pile onto my already very full plate. My brain was mush, and I have to admit, I got really discouraged.

When I started college, I sincerely wondered if my forty something brain could take the abuse. You may recall, I had a friend who helped me enter the mysterious world of academia. She said,"If I can do this, you can do this." So on those days when I became really overwhelmed, I would repeat those words of wisdom in my head over and over. " I can do this, I can do this, I can do this". But you can't just say it ANY old way. You have to give it the cadence and rhythm of a train, you have to say it three times, and you have to take deep breaths while you repeat it. (Did I mention I can be a bit OCD???) Just like the Little Engine That Could, I repeated my mantra till I could hoist my caboose over the crest of the insurmountable exam or paper or completely useless math equation.

So what, you get discouraged. I do too. Everybody does. But you know what? You have the power to let your fire go out or to refuel your furnace. You can decide to let your engine rust over or to keep the pistons pumping. And, like me, you can do it, you can do it, you can do it.