If you didn’t meet me until after my divorce, you might find this hard to believe, but I can find something positive in anything or anyone. Really. That’s a required personality trait for an upcycler. You have to be able to see beneath or beyond what’s there and envision what can be.

I’m also the queen of “it could always be worse.” Ask my family and they’ll tell you of the day my grandmother complained about how “ugly” her feet were and I popped back with, “At least you have feet. Not everyone in the world can say that.”

Kids say the darnedest things.

These days, it might take me longer to find the pony in the pile of shit, but give me time and I’ll mold one out of that stinking pile of feces, if I have to. After the week I’ve had (and, note, it’s only Thursday!), it’s a safe bet I have at least two, maybe three, ponies in my proverbial pile.

Everyone in my house has been sick (including one of the dogs). The toilet was clogged. The kitchen had ants. My gutters were full and the rain we’ve had, nearly every day, was backing up into my attic and creating water spots on my ceiling. The pipes between my house and the sewer line developed a clog. Again. (Yes, roots.) And my personal life decided now would be a good time to tank.

I’ll confess: my Happy Anniversary blog post, with all its grit and I-Am-Woman-Hear-Me-Roar, was an exercise in writing the way I want to feel – like smiling when you feel like crap; the old fake it ’til you make it theory. I told a friend only half of me believed what I was writing, but just the act of writing it and sharing it helped, and, by the next day, I felt like maybe 51% of me now believed it. (Could be the CBD oil talking, but I’m not going to overthink it).

So, I’m going to try that exercise again.

To all the men who let me down this week: thank you.

The gutter guy who blew me off forced me to climb that ladder and do it myself. Like so many things, I assumed this was something only my husband could do, because I lack his height and upper body strength. But, the first can be compensated for with tools and tenacity, and the second just means I have to work longer and maybe slower, but I’ll get it done eventually.

The plumber who didn’t show made me learn more about my plumbing, and gave me an excuse to try some pretty cool hacks, like baking soda and vinegar (volcano!) and Dawn dish washing liquid (my pipes are slippery and clean!). I acquired a new tool I’ll no doubt need again (hello, auger) and I can brag that I unclogged the uncloggable toilet.

The man who never texted back gave me time to paint and blog and walk my dogs, instead of getting ready for dates that might never happen. I watched Brene Brown’s TED talk again, to remind myself it’s good to be vulnerable (even though it doesn’t feel that way right now).

And the absent co-parent, who chose the hours before the 8th grade promotion ceremony to peek out from under his rock, showed me my heart is still hurting. How’s that worth a thank you? Well, at least I have a heart and I put it out there (and then some). Not everyone can say that.