No use crying over spilled milk
Written by Emily Hanson Friday, 05 February 2010 08:00
When I think of the phrase, “there’s no use crying over spilled milk,” I think of a six-year-old child who just got caught doing something they weren’t supposed to. The tears start flowing as the child fears that they will get into trouble.
In comes grandma, who doesn’t yell, doesn’t get upset. She simply pats the blubbering child on the head and says, “That’s alright dear. There’s no use crying over spilled milk.”
I often heard this phrase when I was younger. But, like most children, I could never really figure out why the adults said there was no use crying over spilled milk when no milk was ever spilled. Years later of course, I finally understood what the phrase really meant.
Thursday, Feb. 11, celebrates Don’t Cry Over Spilled Milk Day. It’s a day to realize that everyone spills a little milk now and then, figuratively speaking. It’s a day to be optimistic, to look on the bright side, and to find good in everything that happens.
We’ve all had those days. Your alarm clock doesn’t go off, making you late for your 8 a.m. class. To make things even better, your teacher decides to throw a pop quiz on the chapter that you didn’t have time to read. You had a test that didn’t go as well as you had hoped. Your day might be so busy that you hardly have time to eat lunch.
Maybe you got a parking ticket or got into a little fender-bender. Maybe you had someone criticizing you and you felt discouraged. You go home after a long day of class and try and relax when you realize you have a five-page paper to write by tomorrow. You’re up way later then you want and don’t get to bed until 2 a.m.
It’s amazing how the smallest of things can bring us down. On more than one occasion I’ve found myself getting worried and upset about the tiniest little things that have no significant impact in the bigger scheme of life.
Sometimes it’s easy to let our bad day dictate our attitude. However, I believe that things only get as bad as we let them. If we let the not-so-awesome things of life bring us down, then we might be crying over an awful lot of spilled milk.
Bad things happen sometimes. They might be big things or they might be small things that really don’t matter. Though it’s easier said than done, my challenge to you is to look on the bright side of things. Try and find good in everything that happens. Have a positive attitude, even when the world is trying to get you to frown.
Keep a smile on that beautiful face and remember that there is no use crying over spilled milk.
