Life in Big Girl Panties

“Put on your big girl panties and deal with it.” (Photo from iStock)

“I wanted to call you so bad a few months ago and say, ‘I don’t know what’s wrong with me.’ But making the call didn’t feel right. Instead, I put on my big girl panties and said, ‘Deal with it.’”

My daughter shared this yesterday while we talked on the phone into the afternoon – a rarity these days because of our long distance relationship and busy schedules.

What was wrong, which she figured out on her own, was it took more effort than she wanted to put forth to rid herself of a troublesome character trait and make a much needed job change.

Sounds pretty typical for most of us, doesn’t it?

I was in nearly the same spot as my daughter and for similar reasons. Instead of putting on my big girl panties, I whined to friends, “I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

One friend said I was making too big of a deal out of my circumstances. Maybe I was. So what?

Another insisted I spend thousands of dollars and fly up North to take part in a weeklong counseling session where she happened to work as a counselor. Otherwise, she was too busy to take my calls. Well, I was too busy to fly to Pennsylvania.

Two friends told me I was lucky because their problems were much worse, however, at that very moment, I was only thinking about mine.

Reaching out for help is a credible action during difficult times. However, when help isn’t available, sometimes the answer is “Put on your big girl panties and deal with it.”

Have you been through hard times alone, when family and friends weren’t available? How’d you handle it?

Write wHere I’m supposed to be – When I finished pitching a fit (if you’re new around here, I do a lot this) and adjusted my attitude, I followed my daughter’s example. She starts her new job next Monday, a good sign that big girl panties work.