Cranky Pants

It's been a long week for the Schneiderheimer household. I guess it's just that time of year. Money is tight with Christmas approaching, work is getting hectic for each of us and Ellie ... well, she just gets cranky sometimes.
It's so easy to get caught up in all that and let it ruin a day. I know I've let that happen a time or two in the last week.
But last night, I came home armed to be in a good mood. I thought that I'd just set my frustrations from the day aside, give some hugs and kisses and settle in for a quiet, relaxing night with my gals.
Dorothy's stomach, however, had other ideas. Maybe it was the novacaine from her dentist's appointment. Maybe it was something she ate, but Dorothy was in agony and went to bed about 6 p.m. About an hour later, she (how to put this nicely), got some relief from her stomach issues and came back down to the living room.
Now, Dorothy likes to make a lot of what a baby I am when I get sick, but she may just be worse. She sobbed a little because she didn't feel well and cuddled up to watch the Glee Christmas show. In the most pitiful little voice, she mentioned that she might be able to have some ice cream, though we didn't have any in the house.
So, out I went, looking specifically for "vanilla with chocolate chips, but not big chips. It should be the shaved pieces. Real thin."
When I got home, Dorothy had broken down. She was sobbing while watching Glee. Is that a paradox, or what?
I didn't understand until this morning, when she explained that Glee was Mrs. Lizer's favorite show. Mrs. Lizer, the mother of one of Dorothy's closest friends, lost her battle with cancer just before Thanksgiving. This was only the the second episode of the show she has missed.
Immediately, the ridiculousness of the things I'd been annoyed about vanished. I'd been spending time and energy, and acting cranky, about clutter being left around the house, or having to do dishes while Dorothy talked on the phone. Those things aren't important.
I don't think I have to explain much further. But the Grinch of this Christmas has left the Schneiderheimer household. We have a limited number of days, Christmases and special moments on this Earth. And it took an episode of Glee and a sobbing/pukey wife to show me.
That's not to say that I won't get annoyed about the dishes ever again. We're human, afterall. But hopefully my new perspective will kick in.