Have a nice face!

 

 

"The smile did not mean that he was happy." 

-- Michael Cadnum, Flash

     

Smiley face balloon with a knife 6-17-13

 

 

“Anyone who has a continuous smile on his face 

conceals a toughness that is almost frightening.”

-- Greta Garbo

“Stab the body and it heals, but injure the heart and the wound lasts a lifetime.”

-- Mineko Iwasaki 

It's hard to smile when everything hurts.

If I don't sleep, I can pretty much guarantee that the next day is going to be painful. 

Today is one of those days. 

If you have chronic pain, like me, whether it's from fibromyalgia, or an injury, or some other ongoing  condition, then you probably know how restful sleep can function like a "reset button."  

A good night's sleep can miraculously switch off the pain. Not permanently, but it can provide enough of a break for me to catch my breath, relax and remember, if only for a short time, what "normal" feels like.

Last night I didn't sleep, so I didn't get the "reset." All of the pain I went to bed with stayed, and built on itself, and this morning it is still here --  mine to keep and to carry with me for the rest of the day.

Yellow smiley faces tend to pop up here on the blog from time to time, usually when I'm feeling anything but smiley. Smileys don't happen on my good days. They usually coincide with "those days" --  the ones when I have to try real hard to grin and bear it.

The yellow smiley face became popular during the '70s. It was on coffee mugs and bumper stickers, usually coupled with the phrase "Have a nice day."

I typically place the smiley faces under some type of duress. Unlike me, they keep smiling through the pain, whether I've trapped them under a jar, taken a bite out of them, or stabbed them with a Ginsu knife.
 
It's how I deal.

Grin and bear with me.

Oh. And have a nice day.