Ancient Greek Tragedies and Lucia's current state

“A gem cannot be polished without friction; nor a person without trials.”

-Seneca

Seneca was a philosopher from Rome, born 4 years before Jesus.

If Seneca is right, I am going to be a sparkling diamond by the time we get through this phase of life. We've been on the trial train since Theo's been born. Hopped off for a snack break here and there but otherwise chuggin right along.

We've been slammed left, right, upside down with these trials that just seem to keep coming.

Lucia when someone asks "How is it going?"

And Seneca may be right, maybe these things are good for us, nonetheless it would be nice to come up for air from time to time.

Lucia is now one of those people who is "not doing good"

Up until this point, I have never really understood what that meant.

What do you mean "not doing good" like you are sick of the rain and need a sunny vacation? Like Starbucks raised their prices again? The price of corn dropped? What does that mean?

Figuring out firsthand does give you a real vivid view of what "not doing good" looks like.

It looks like waking up and begging God to give you strength for the day.

It looks like leaving social situations fast and untimely because you get overwhelmed

It looks like a revolving door of papa murphys, little ceasars, and hot dogs for dinner.

It looks like wanting to take the house down with a sledgehammer one minute, and the next sobbing in the fetal position.

well maybe not everyone. But in Lucia's case.

Also mixed in is a feeling of being lost. Where am I supposed to go from here? and who am I anyway? How did I get here?

Before this I was often confused when I heard about people who were struggling. Why don't they just go for a run? Cold plunge? drink kombucha? be positive?

Now I realize. Getting to a state of "not doing good" is kind of like a huge barge ship getting stuck in the marsh. It took a while for the boat to sink, its gonna take a while to get back to smooth sailing.

Assessing the situation; calculating how many cold plunges will be needed.

What are the things Lucia is doing to bail out some water? Basically she looked at her life and threw out everything not necessary to family survival

What does a young family ship actually need to keep cruising? A healthy loving atmosphere for the kids. Plus food water shelter and clothing.

anything that gets in the way of this has to go. This makes life simple. This means boring days at home. Daily afternoon walks with the kids. Sitting outside reading. Boring, slow, daily trips to the grocery store to buy food for that day. Boring and slow and slow and boring. No lunches, library days, beach days, all the extracurriculars a distant memory. Just the family together.

and there is something nice about slow and simple.

So of course we want to get back to seeing people again, this is not the end goal. It is just a season of rest and recalibration. And even though I don't feel fully back to normal, I am enjoying it. Nothing changes when things are going good. It's only when you crash you have a change to re-evaluate and decide what you do and don't want in your life.

So back to Seneca who was just getting into preschool when Christ was born.

He had some struggles in his life also. Including being falsely accused of adultery and being exiled on an island for 8 years. He was a philosopher, a statesman, and a tragedian - which is someone who writes tragic plays. He wrote and performed these dramas focused on human suffering, misfortune, and downfall.

Lucia will probably not end up as a greek tragic playwright, but who knows? Someone told me once that the things you worry about don't usually come true but then something comes completely out of left field that you would have never predicted.

All's that to say, I can't say I for sure won't write a greek tragedy. For now, we're just taking it day by day.

In case you didn't read my last post, we are changing the exit statement here for the time being. Because happiness is great and all but sometimes its just not a main player.

Hope, Joy, Kindness, and Love

Potato Farmers Wife