Botched 1st Birthdays, Leslie Knope, & the Speaking Universe

Sometimes staying positive is difficult.

The last six months have brought one heartbreaking situation after another, for friends and family.
I've stopped expecting things to be normal -- what does that word even mean? But will things will ever level off? Could we get over the last catastrophe before the next one emerges? 

Staying positive is important. Sometimes you have to work at it. I find that episodes of Parks & Recreation (more on that later) and Pumpkin Spice Lattes help.

But seriously, sometimes you have to determine what the universe is saying (or SHOUTING).

The Early Bird's first birthday was especially important to me. He started out as a 1 lb 15 oz micro-preemie in the NICU and in one year, became a 15 lb rambunctious, crawling little boy.

I ordered fancy birthday invitations. We planned a party and invited friends and family. I had multiple cakes planned.

And then....life happened.

Well, Croup happened. Just a few days before his birthday.

If you are not familiar with Croup, let's hope it stays that way. It's nasty. Wheezing, choking, gagging, projectile vomiting nastiness. The wheezing portion is particularly disturbing, as it evokes any idea you might have of what complete respiratory distress might sound like. There were multiple trips to the doctor and steroid injections involved, culminating in a trip to the ER on his actual birthday.

So there was no "1st" birthday party. There was no smashing-of-the-cake and frosting-in-the-face and all that standard jazz.

Baby Boy's Simple Cake

But I was determined that Baby Boy would still have his cake. Until I realized that he needed to be held and comforted more than he needed a fancy birthday cake (DUH ~ universe speaking to me).

I then promptly abandoned my fancy cake plans and finished his carrot cake with a simple goldfish border and let him have at it. I did manage to get a picture, before the ER debacle. (And I mean debacle. As in, q-tips-down-the-throat, chest x-rays, breathing treatments, we-think-he-has-whooping-cough, complete drama, oh wait, maybe we should actually consult with a pediatrician debacle ~ separate story).

My Balloons (Not Pictured!) Are More Interesting Than Cake

Ok, Maybe This Cake Is More
Interesting Than Those Balloons....

Party or no party...cake or no cake...Baby Boy got better and didn't look back.

Today he toddles around with the help of furniture or anything else he can get his hands on, mobile or immobile. He brings young light to a world in which I am often consumed with the nitty gritty details of aging. He keeps me positive.

Now back to Parks & Recreation.

I think it's especially hard to be positive right now. The negative campaign ads are everywhere--radio, TV, email, snail mail, phone calls. I don't know if I can handle another three weeks...

Leslie Knope, 2012 Pawnee city council candidate in NBC's Parks & Recreation, has some important lessons to teach us about staying positive. I think all political candidates should follow the Leslie Knope model of taking the high road when it comes to negative campaign ads.

The following clip is a negative ad that Leslie's campaign manager Ben created. Leslie refused to run this negative ad:


Instead, Leslie found a way to make a positive campaign ad, when everyone thought it wasn't possible:



In fact, I think this is what we all need to do. Personally, professionally, politically, whatever. Find a way to find the positive. And when you find yourself in a run of this-isn't-what-I-planned situations, ask yourself what the universe is trying to tell you.