Eggs

We all know what's in an egg when we crack it, right? Well...not necessarily. See sometimes the egg is hard-boiled, like the really tasty one I had for lunch (how can eggs taste different week to week, I have no idea but these eggs were from Sam's Club, maybe they have special tasty chickens working on the egg line). Sometimes it's raw and gets all over the counter when the shell is too hard to crack regularly and I have to hit it harder and it splatters. And once in a while you get a double yolk. (Which, for some reason, my seventh graders always considered "soooo gross" when it happened in FACS class).

But I got to thinking today that life is a lot like an egg. We all know what's inside but we're not quite sure how it's gonna present itself. Maybe it'll be hard-boiled, maybe it'll be raw, maybe it'll be disfigured and revolting, or maybe it'll be a fluffy pale yellow chick like you see in the Easter commercials.

Well lately my eggs have been rotten. Well, that's not fair, they haven't all been rotten. Some have been tasty and I've even given up the salt I used to sprinkle them with. Some have been fluffy when fried with cheese and served up next to toast. But some I've thrown in the trash can without even cracking, for fear of what was inside. I knew what was inside and I wanted none of it.

In one respect, life is good. I'm alive for starters. I am on the giving end of the Homeless Lunch line. I have a family who supports me unfailingly despite all my urgings not to. I have friends who seem to know just what I need to hear and say it to me constantly. I am writing well, my script is almost ready to be submitted to the big contest at school and to several industry folks. I have a new idea I'm working on that I love. I've had the opportunity to chat on the phone with several of my students and they're really great people. I've seen a lot of movies lately. I just finished reading a book. Not a script, a real book. I get to meet Diablo Cody in a few weeks (yes, I know, I'm a dork).

But then there's the other side. And I've blogged about it. I've complained about it on Facebook. I've cried over it. I've been angry and resentful and well, not in a good mood. And that sucks. I know, it's hard out there for everyone. I should be lucky I have any type of job at the moment. But sometimes, well, sometimes the eggs you get just stink. They're past their expiration date and you can't do anything with them, not even hard-boil them (which was always Mom's cure all for about to expire eggs). But I just have to wonder - will I ever get better eggs? Will there be a time when my eggs never expire? I'm not so sure. (Especially after going outside this morning, to go volunteer at 5P21, to find Ang's car dead. Yeah. Another dead car. Seriously? Do you have to throw the rotten eggs at me?)

But I do have hope and I guess that's the point of all this. I know things will be okay (and not just because that's what my grandpa used to say). If I didn't know that, what else would I have?

This morning I opened my email to find this forward, and it struck me. So much so that I printed it out on hot pink paper and posted it above my desk. And I thought I'd share it with you all. Just in case you got some bad eggs of your own this week...

Failure doesn't mean - "You are a failure,"
It means - You have not succeeded.

Failure doesn't mean - "You accomplished nothing,"
It means - You have learned something.

Failure doesn't mean - "You have been a fool,"
It means - You had a lot of faith.

Failure doesn't mean - "You don't have it,"
It means - You were willing to try.

Failure doesn't mean - "You are inferior,"
It means - You are not perfect.

Failure doesn't mean - "You've wasted your life,"
It means - You have a reason to start afresh.

Failure doesn't mean - "You should give up,"
It means - "You must try harder.

Failure doesn't mean - "You'll never make it,"
It means - It will take a little longer.

Failure doesn't mean - "God has abandoned you,"
It means - God has a better way for you.