Hi. You don’t know me. I don’t know you. We’re strangers. But we’re the same, sort of. Only chances are, you drive a nicer car than I do. In fact I guarantee you drive a nicer car.
I drive a 25-year-old truck. The tailgate is rusted, there is a prodigious layer of dog hair on the upholstery. The windshield is cracked, the gas gauge doesn’t work, the roof leaks so that when it rains the interior of my Ford bears the perpetual scent of canine.
There is a sticker on my dashboard which reads “Tomorrow is a day with no mistakes in it.” My old man gave the sticker to me when I was 10. I’ve never parted with it.
So anyway, although we’ve never met before, we have a few things in common. Namely, we both breathe air, we both eat food, we both work for a living. We both hold a deep level of respect for the Internal Revenue Service.
We also have bad days. You and me. That’s just how we are. We’re humans. Bad days are inevitable.
The reasons for our bad days vary.
Maybe we don’t get enough sleep. Or people let us down. Sometimes we get overloaded with work, family, schedules, appointments, commitments, obligations, IRS audits, etc.
Sometimes we receive bad news. Sometimes we have chronic pain. Sometimes we have chronic stress. Sometimes we suffer from the chronic idiocy of our fellow man.
Sometimes your water heater goes out. Sometimes your CV axle needs replacing. Sometimes your football team sucks Sometimes your dog pees in the kitchen.
Sometimes, it’s the one-year anniversary of your dad’s death. Sometimes your spouse decides they want a new spouse. Sometimes your cat dies. Sometimes your loved one dies. Sometimes the doctor looks you square in the eye and uses the C-word. Sometimes—and here I am speaking of myself—your septic tank needs to be pumped.
Either way, a body can only take so much abuse. After a while, life starts to wear you down. You start to feel overwhelmed. And tired. And “over it all.”
But really, what you’re feeling is just fear. Deep inside, you are actually just wondering will ALWAYS be this way? Will things always be a mess? Will life always be hard? Will I always be on the wrong side of life?
Will you always have chronic back pain? Will you ALWAYS be an insomniac, going through your day like a B-movie zombie? Will you always have problems with your marriage? Will life ever get better? Will anyone ever understand what I’m going through?
The answer is: I have no freaking idea. I’m just some hack writer on the Internet.
But…
If, by chance, this is one of those days for you, friend; if this is a crummy day that you’d rather not be going through; if you wished today was over before it even started; I’d just like to remind you something you already know.
It will get better. You will get better. Life will get better. It might not happen the way you want it to. Your prayers might not be answered in the way you wanted. But it’s going to be okay. You’re going to be okay. Just hang on. Wait for tomorrow.
Because someone once told me that tomorrow is a day with no mistakes in it.
Sean Dietrich is a columnist, novelist and stand-up storyteller known for his commentary on life in the American South. His column appears in newspapers throughout the U.S. He has authored 15 books, he is the creator of the Sean of the South Podcast and he makes appearanes at the Grand Ole Opry.
