Lookin' Hard to Find the Joy

I know a lot of negative people, and I don't want to be one. I want to be a source of joy to everyone who knows me. And I want this little blog to be a source of joy to everyone who happens by and stays long enough to read a post or two.

But you know what? Some days I have to work at having a joyful attitude. I'm genetically inclined to negativity and pessimism. When I get lazy, who I am genetically wins out over who I am in Christ. Today I feel lazy. So, I'm having to work hard at being joyful. I've got plenty of reasons to be happy and joyful, but there are some little things that, over the last couple of days, have crawled all over me and stolen my joy.

What are those little things you ask? Okay, I'll tell you. They're ANTS!!! Thousands, no, make that tens of thousands of ants.

Remember my post a while back about ants in my plants? Well, that was nothing compared to the ant problem I've got here at our new "home."

We arrived here in Mobile Monday afternoon and set up camp. Tuesday morning Rick left for work around 6:30 and I went back to bed and dozed off and on while I got my morning dose of the Weather Channel. I got up around 7:30 and headed for the shower.

UGHH! The shower was FULL of ants. The bath mat was covered with ants. The ceiling was covered with ants. Trails of little ants crisscrossed the walls and floor like bad plaid wallpaper and worn out carpet.

I forgot my desire to take a shower and went straight for the bright orange spray can. Tiny black bug carcases peppered my private space and I coughed from breathing in too much insecticide, but I won! Or so I thought.

Then I went into the kitchen and saw more legions of ants making their march over the counter, around the ceiling, across the floor, and by now, up my legs! That did it.

I headed for the lawn and garden department at Wal-Mart where I picked up various forms of ant bait and poisons for use indoors and out. I spent the rest of the day engaged in battle. I was greatly outnumbered.

Today dawned new and I got out of bed with hopes that I had the ant problem under control. I had emptied the bright orange spray can, placed all the bait stations around the inside of the camper and sprinkled all the poison on the ground around our rig. That should have done the trick. So after Rick left for work I peeked into the bathroom. No ants. I went down to the kitchen and there were ants on the window ledge, but they were hard at work on the bait station and not running all over the counter. Things were looking up.

I took my shower then remembered I needed to put out the Damp Rid. (Humidity control is a big deal when you live in a camper on the Gulf Coast.) Now don't ask me how I did it, because I really don't know. But when I squatted down to open the cabinet under the sink where I keep the Damp Rid, I lost my balance just as I opened the door, and I whacked myself on the forehead with the corner of the door. (I hadn't had my coffee yet.)

When blood started to run down my face I checked the mirror. No wonder it hurt so badly! I had a gash across my head that needed a butterfly band-aid. Good thing I had one! I really needed someone to feel pitiful for me. Even if Rick would have been at home I don't think he would have pampered me, though I would have tried to get some benefit out of the purple knot swelling up on my face. But since he was already at work, I patched myself up and decided to find some comfort food for breakfast.

That's when a bad day turned terrible. Inside my pantry every ant in the neighborhood had gathered for the feast of all time. All four boxes of cereal were infested. Even the package of Fig Newtons that had not been opened had ants inside. Everything on every shelf was covered with ants!

My arsenal was empty. Frustrated and fuming I headed to Wal-Mart for more deadly dope. I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror before I got out the door, and it was a good thing too. My hair had that "just out of the shower" look which went well with the butterfly bandage on my oozing forehead.

Yeah, I'll admit at that moment I had a hard time finding joy in the journey.

I'm a little better now. My head still hurts and I have no cereal, but thousands, no, make that tens of thousands of ants have lost their lives today. And I still have amunition on hand for tomorrow's early morning attack!

Yep, sometimes you have to look for it, but you can usually find reason to rejoice if you look hard enough!