All of the Above

Cleaning house sometimes means more than the physical act of cleaning house. Sometimes it is a metaphor for ridding one’s life of other things; negative thoughts or bad attitudes or hurts or pre-conceived notions. It is also a euphemism for firing someone from a job. In my house we are experiencing all kinds of cleaning house.

My husband was recently a victim of: (a) the economy, (b) corporate greed, (c) age discrimination, (d) being one of the good guys in a sea of bastards, or (e) all of the above. I’m going with answer (e).

This leads me to the cleaning house metaphor – ridding my life of negative thoughts. I am harboring such unkind thoughts towards my husband’s former employer. Such negativity at a time when positive thinking is a must. It is very difficult to let things go, to breathe deeply and banish thoughts of meanness and revenge. Yes, I want his former company to go bankrupt. Yes, I want his former employers to wake up tomorrow with boils on buttocks. Yes, I want the whole lot of them to be arrested by the SEC for fraudulent practices. I do know that in reality none of this will happen (please, just one tiny boil outbreak), but for some reason it makes me feel better to imagine it. However, it does nothing towards focusing on the positive aspects of this life changing event. So visualize with me, if you will, a teeny-tiny broom sweeping away all of the negativity in my mind. Swoosh, there goes the anger. Swoosh, gone are the thoughts of Black Death and pestilence. Swoosh, out with ideas of arrest warrants and jail sentences. Swoosh, no more name-calling. Swoosh, well – maybe just a few boils?