Raindrops Keep Falling On Your Head
There’s an old joke my father used to tell.
A guy goes to the doctor and lifts his left arm over his head and says, “It hurts when I do this.” The doctor replies: “Don’t do that.”
I thought of this today as I was making coffee this morning. I cannot understand why someone hasn’t invented a coffee pot that doesn’t drip water down the pot when you are trying to pour it into the coffeemaker.
Anyway, I am pouring the water into the coffeemaker and the water is dripping down the side and onto the floor.
And, just like yesterday and the day before, there is a cat Niko, standing right below me, getting wet as the water drips on his head. He’s giving me a nasty look – the kind that says, “WTF??? Why is it raining in here???”
And I said to the complaining cat – “Why don’t you just stand someplace else?”
Like the doctor in the joke, if it hurts when you do that, don’t do that.
If it is raining on your head, get out of the rain.
Of course, there are times when you can’t avoid the rain.
Sometimes the nasty raindrops are coming from a family member you usually love, or from a boss at a job you can’t afford to give up right now.
And sometimes the rain is better than the tornado.
But there are times when you can easily just get out of the rain.
– You could read an infuriating tweet and just continue to scroll past.
– You could listen to a good audiobook when the traffic is bad.
– You could shut the TV off when the program is obnoxious.
– You can try a different hobby or sport if you aren’t having fun anymore.
And, easiest of all, you could just get our your umbrella.
Yes, there is rain that is unavoidable, but you still don’t have to get wet.
A lot of rain is that slow drip of criticism. You can take a drop or two, shake it off. But if you stand out in the criticism drizzle, eventually it will soak you through.
So get out your umbrella, your raincoat, your boots, and a hat.
The holidays are here. And along with all the love they bring, the festivities are bound to have their share of drizzles.
The kind of drizzles that say:
– Why aren’t you married yet?
– You shouldn’t let your children get away with that.
– You spend too much money.
– You’ve put on a little weight.
And my personal favorite (meaning just the opposite) – criticism of my taste.
– You liked that movie? I thought it was awful.
– Writing fiction is just a waste of time.
– I would never shop there.
– That’s not what I would call authentic Thai food.
You need a really big umbrella to keep those raindrops from spoiling your parade.
Your umbrella in this case is called self-assurance. Self-worth. The confidence to like what you like.
Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.”
And that other great philosopher – my dog Theo – last week tweeted this:
You can get out of the rain.
______
PS… This week, Amazon is offering the Kindle Edition of my novel, LUCINDA’S SOLUTION, for 99 cents. Click here.
- Posted in: Humor
- Tagged: criticism, Eleanor Roosevel, Holidays, relatives, self-protection, self-worth, twitter
notquiteold 
Great post! You should go into the umbrella business!
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i love this post and theo is a genius
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Great post!
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Needed that love button for this post. I agree entirely with Theo.
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Yup!
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Great post.
https://dubaitentsupplier.wordpress.com/
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Grear post 🙂
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Great dear
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Brilliant, well said, timely and so true. Thank you for writing this now.
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I don’t have a twitter, does Theo do pup tips on instagram too? 😊❤
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Thank you Theo, this happened to me this past summer and I still think about it. You are right I should let it go. And Niko….no sense standing there every morning. If it hasn’t gotten you anything good so far it isn’t likely too…move on too sweet kitty.
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This is so spot-on. I continue to be stalked, retributively, and there’s a huge element of condemnation in some of the specific incidents of harassment.
All the books I’ve read talk about the importance of disengaging with those stalking and re-engaging with yoursel to limit impact. So far, I’ve been doing much better re-engaging me (discovering what makes me happy and then doing it) than disengaging from them/their acts.
It seems like I just had the wrong analogy for disengaging; reading your rain/raingear analogy made me go, “Of course!” Thanks for that. Now I have an image to guide me, making it all less abstract.
I sure can’t stop the rain, but I can don raingear to limit its impacts. It seems so obvious, typing it out like this, but hey! It takes what it takes, and for me, it took this post. (Did I mention, thanks?!)
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Theo is SO smart!
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I love this! Theo is spot on 🙂
Someone near me was yaddering on about “all the Christmas music blaring” and wanting me to be as annoyed as she was. I quietly replied that I haven’t started listening to it yet. “WHAT? it’s everywhere, that’s not even possible.” I informed her the radio is tuned to other channels or off, she humphed and gave up. Some just don’t want to see the power they have to choose, they’re miserable and they’re only happy if you’re miserable with them. Blah.
Today the tree goes up and my favorite Christmas tunes will be on 🙂
~MJ
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Thanks so much for this blog. I am a Jewish woman in the midst of a Christian family, who do not get it that Christmas is not my holiday. In past years, I have tried to satisfy others. I have chosen instead, this year, to discover what makes me happy…and content.
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I love Niko’s photo! It made me laugh out loud, even though I don’t feel like laughing right now (since I’m trying to dry off from a “rainstorm.” Now that’s what I call a “joy giver!” I thank God every day for the animals/pets. What would this world be without them?
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Niko has that deer in the headlights look a lot! He is the spookiest little thing!
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Great post!… I borrowed Theo’s twitter post… but gave you and your blog a plug… I’m not on twitter so I couldn’t repost/share. If it’s a problem let me know and I’ll take it down.
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If Theo were human I would vote for him to be president. Hell, as a dog he would still make a better president than 45.
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