Jan
How Sweet It Is
The past few days have been cloudy. It’s even rained. In Phoenix. This weather has seemed to match my gloomy mood. Things have been difficult lately. We’re dealing with a tough situation that started months ago and the resolution of which looms uncertainly in the future. One day at a time, I keep thinking.
Always in the back of my mind I know things could be so much worse. Lucas and I have created a loving, safe and happy home for our kids. We have an amazingly supportive extended family. Everyone is healthy. Our situation, though frightening, will eventually be worked out and the passage of time will make it a distant memory. Lots of dear ones are praying for us continually. There is much to be grateful for… Still.
Yesterday it was hard to suppress my worry. Words like bleak, alone and fear kept coming to the surface. All day I was sluggish, even after I took a nap with Hudson. I was grouchy to Madison. I didn’t get anything done around the house.
By the time Lucas got home I knew I needed to get out for a little while. A change of scenery does wonders for my outlook. We ended up walking around Scottsdale Quarter and stumbling on a candy store called It’Sugar. This is not your grandmother’s candy store. This place can keep the Tooth Fairy in business. They sell the biggest box of Nerds I’ve ever seen. Enormous Gobstoppers and SweetTarts! Jawbreakers bigger than baseballs! Sugar Daddys and Laffy Taffy big enough to rip out a few teeth. Rows of candy in bins to buy by the ounce or pound. It was like we died and went to Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory. I wouldn’t have been surprised to see Oompa Loompas behind the cash registers.
On the It’Sugar website you can order a 7 pound jug of Hershey’s syrup, 5 pound Hershey’s chocolate bars, and 27 pound gummy bears. You read that right.
Hudson thought this place was pretty cool. Look at how he’s eying that lollipop.
My melancholy mood lightened just being around all that brightly-colored sugary goodness and I walked away with a truth to remember during trying times: Keep moving forward with your head up and you just might find a sweet surprise waiting around the corner. As if to confirm a light at the end of the tunnel the weather forecast today announced, “Sunshine will be on the increase for the rest of the week.”
Like you, the weather sometimes dictates my mood — whether I want it to or not! And if my mood is already “gloomy,” then the weather just intensifies my feelings. But as you discovered, a change of scenery works wonders in changing your outlook. Thanks for the tip about “It’s Sugar.” May have to check it out for myself after your rave review
@Amber, It really is a cool place and if you go your dentist will love you.
This was a good reminder for me as I tend to hole up and hunker down when I’m gloomy….staying in my pj’s all day, neglecting usual hygiene (to put it nicely) and praying no one rings the doorbell. This can go on sometimes for a week to 10 days. Next time I will try very hard to make myself take a different tact…maybe o d on some sugar instead of gloom.
@JC, it’s so easy to fall into that rut. Change of scenery is always good, especially when a candy store is the destination.