Keep Singing Your Song

 Sometimes, we're just smooth sailing along. thinking to ourselves "life is good and all is well", when suddenly, without warning, everything is upended and we're reminded that life can be an unpredictable hot mess at times. We have to stop in our tracks, face whatever it is, and figure out how to deal with the new reality. It's not always easy, but as is usually the case, I find that there's some great advice in children's stories.

What comes to mind is a children's audio story and song that my current group of five year olds at the Montessori school absolutely love. It's called "Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes", by Eric Litman. Pete is a real cool cat who is very proud of his new white shoes:

Pete the Cat was walking down the street
Ooh, it was a beautiful day
The sun was shining, the children were playing
He was feeling good
He was wearing his brand new white shoes
Ooh he loved those white shoes
He loved them so much
He walked down the street singing this song

I love my white shoes
I love my white shoes
I love my white shoes
I love my white shoes
I love my white shoes
I love my white shoes

Oh, no!
He stepped in a large pile of strawberries
What color did it turn his shoes?
Red!
Did he cry?
Goodness, no!
He just started singing this song:

I love my red shoes
I love my red shoes
I love my red shoes
I love my red shoes
I love my red...

 and so on...

He steps in blueberries, mud and a big puddle, but just keeps on walking along, singing his song, making the best of every new situation. At the end of the story, the narrator says " and the moral of this story is: no matter what happens in life, you just keep walking along, singing your own song" and everything will be OK. Sounds like a great reminder for all of us, right?

I guess the Pete the Cat story is another way of saying "don't sweat the small stuff", just keep doing your thing and somehow it'll all work out if you keep your attitude positive and upbeat.

Of course, I'm not sure it works as well for the big stuff to just go it alone and it's true that some problems can't be solved by a simple change of attitude. We need to know when to ask for a little help if problems seem overwhelming, whether it be from friends, family or God. I tend to turn to prayer first when things start to spiral out of control, but I always remember a story that a Christian leader once told about a little boy who had a nightmare and called out for his dad to come to his room. When his dad got there, the little boy told him about the bad dream and his dad said, " you don't have anything to worry about, because God is always here with you". The little boy replied, "I know Daddy, but sometimes I just need someone with skin on!"

As important as prayer and right attitude are, sometimes we just need a hug and some kind words from "someone with skin on" to help us be like Pete the Cat and keep going along, singing our song.