Some ideas are so great it’s great to use them more than once.
(Using the same word in the same sentence twice isn’t a great idea. Oops. I did it again.) Think about some great ideas in history. Playing football on Thanksgiving? Great. Let’s do it again. The beautiful and comedic Elizabeth Banks on a real estate commercial?
Yes, great.
You can’t have greats without grrs, however. A grr is … playing football in a stadium like Heinz Field in Pittsburg, where it’s impossible to kick a field goal on one end. Ever. Or … persistent ads on Pandora for problems of men my age.
My friend Cricket writes a blog called Cricketmuse. She wrote a guest post here listing her Greats and Grrs. It was a hit. She even it for her own blog with another list. I’m going to string it out once more and write one for mine.
And hope it doesn’t flop like Zoolander 2. Or the Oakland raiders in the playoffs.
Grrs – easily turned to Greats
I love this concept! Well, yes, the raiders flopping, but mostly Cricket’s idea. What I love is how you can turn a grr into a great, very easily.
Grr: Rough morning, when you don’t want to leave your oldest daughter’s company
Great: Getting to work, realizing you have a fantastic team that makes you feel good about yourself.
Here are others.
Grr: Commutes of sometimes more than an hour for work.
Great: A compelling or inspiring audiobook to help pass the time.
Grr: Checking in on your favorite baseball team, which leads 8-5 in late innings. Checking back later to see they’ve lost 12-8.
Great: They’re still in first place!
Grr: A sweltering day as a chaperone in an amusement park full of noisy teenagers.
Great: Getting three kids to watch over who are funny, energetic, respectful and … did I mention funny?
Grr: A breakfast counter running out of croissants after I’ve ordered.
Great: The cook finding a stash of croissants when I ask to just cancel my order.
Grr: The Denver Broncos missing the playoffs the season after they win the Super Bowl.
Great: The Denver Broncos ending their season with a resounding victory against a hated rival.
Grr: Losing a high school girls playoff game by mercy rule (9-0) to a hated rival.
Great: Getting the biggest win in program history two days before at the field of a highly-ranked team – and finding a pizza place after each game to have dinner with your team.
Grr: Having no room in the camper for you and your youngest to sleep.
Great: Sleeping under the stars in the perfect night air.
Grr: Buying rad college hoodies for my girls – and forgetting where I’ve packed them.
Great: Knowing that if I can find them, I’ll have a few gifts knocked out for birthdays.
Grr: Getting stuck with crappy Wi-Fi.
Great: Remembering the deck of UNO cards you stashed in your backpack.
Grr: When you crave an afternoon sugar hit – but it’s only 11 in the morning.
Great: That Romanian girl on your team sending out an email offering macaroons – and she’s only two desks away (also, that her French friend hasn’t offed the rest of them.)
Grr: Living in a nation bereft with political strife and incessant protests.
Great: Living in a nation where you can speak out and protest – or have the right to have your own opinion about such protests, and ignore them.
Grr: Being too short to dunk a basketball (or be a stormtrooper.)
Great: Being short enough to ride comfortably in most cars. (And not hit your head on chandeliers. Also, being just tall enough to occasionally help a shorter person reach the top shelf at the grocery store.)
Grr: Having a kid off to college in a distant town.
Great: Getting a call from that kid in the morning on her way to class.
Grr: The demands of a new job with a needed purpose.
Great: The opportunity to help a company that has treated you well, and test yourself and your resolve.
Grr: Raising a child so tough you wonder if you’ve gone too far.
Great: Seeing that child quietly take care of those around her.
Grr: Having an adventurous child you must keep eyes on.
Great: Being alongside her for some of her adventures.
Grr: Not having the time to read all the blogs your friends write
Great: Knowing you’ll never run out of awesome reads.
Grr: The cost of living.
Great: Having a family to live for.
What about you? What are some Grrs and Greats in your life? (Some will feel like first-world problems. That made me cringe at first, but you know what? These are our realities, and we shouldn’t feel guilty when some of our ills are minor in the world view.
They’re still our ills. And there’s still an upside to recognizing that!
Just a dad ... 
grr – lions
great – red wings
[The space between them is really thin though, isn’t it, between them?]
Here is yet another grrrreat idea I plan on “stealing” from you. Some of them may feel like first world problems, but we’re all fighting our own battles and who’s to say what’s a big deal and what isn’t?
I wish you’d take to stealing my mortgage payments or stocking my fridge with provolone, amigo. (Hey, I stole it from Cricket.)
I refuse to feel guilty for any of my first-world problems – I’m with you on that!
Grr…….I mean great post. I wish I live in a country where I’m free to speak out or protest without the threat of being put behind bars. 🙀
See, that’s a perspective we here need to appreciate, Pat. Absolutely.
👍😻
What a great way to turn life’s negatives into positives! Thanks for a great first-thing-on-Monday-morning read.
There’s a handy tab on every grr that can be turned into a great. True, some are covered in fire ants or are microscopic or both, but they’re there! Glad you enjoyed this, Kath.
Grrrr – it’s Monday.
Great – reading this.
Grrr – I’m out of Coke Zero.
Great – I can refill for free. Plus, I just read your letter to your younger self and loved it enough that I didn’t even think about refilling my cup yet. Also, a Grr and Great post out of your blog would be stellar.
Something to consider. I will see what my mind can do with it.
Do it!
Done and scheduled for next week! Thanks for your support.
I love your reframes on all these Grrs.
Maybe I’ll do one of these too, but for now…
Grrr- Too many great blog ideas; not enough time or ambition
Great – When I do have time/ambition, I have 400+ draft topics to choose from
Grrr- Paring down a house I don’t want to be in
Great- Hopefully being able to take advantage of the market and selling it.
Grrr – A seriously rocky patch with the guy I’m dating
Great – If we can’t figure it out, we’ve had a pretty great 10 months together and I know I’ll be okay
Grrr- Not hearing back from friends
Great – Knowing it’s not me, they’re taking care of others or on adventures of their own and I love that about them.
Damn, Court – save these effers and put them in a post! You have momentum once you get four or five going. I love the upswing in them all, but I’ll pick the last one as my favorite.
These are.. well… grrrrreat! I hear Tony the Tiger in my head. Does that make me old?? I loved all them. I have a few of my own. Maybe I will do a Grrr and Great post! 😉
Thanks, Courtney! Did I tell you about the time I skipped Tony’s Frosted Flakes and got generic ones? They were … gooooooooood!
I’d love to see your grrs and greats post.
Ha ha love this! Life is really a series of Grrs and Greats, isn’t it? Always good to reflect on the positive like your 3 Loves.
Thanks! Sometimes the greats come before the grrs, too. The positive feels so much better.
I love this list! It’s really all about turning lemons into lemonade! I am guilty of dwelling on the grrs for too long sometimes. I’ll have to try to find more of the greats next time!
I had a very good friend who used to call me Pollyanna because I could find a positive way to spin any situation. I usually do it as a joke, but you’re right. It definitely does work!
You know, I’ve never seen that movie, Karen. But I like that you can see the good that way. Even as a joke, at least it gives us the idea that something good can come of this. It’s a mindset!
Nice steal, and I’d say home run!
Thank you for putting the idea in my head and on my blog in the first place, friend.
Maybe we’re on to something–turning grrumbles into grreats😏
The world would be a better place.
This is why i write a thankful post on Saturdays, because even though there are many grrs, there is a lot to be grateful about in my life.
Yes, and Saturday seems like a good time to hit those, Mimi.
These are so great! You have a great attitude on life. This is certainly how to live – see the greats in everything! (Or at least some of them….)
Thanks, Katherine! Cricket’s exercise emphasizes that positive outlook we can all find. It’s sure easier on the blood pressure to see that at least some of the time!
As always- thank you for the feel good read my friend! This is awesome. I saw this on Crickets page sometime ago and started taking notes but never shared a post- maybe it’s time!
Love the quote at the end!
Glad you liked it, Tiff! It’s not always easy to see the great, but it’s there. Cricket’s idea is stellar, and I’d been sitting on the actual stealing of it for a while.
That quote just seemed a perfect fit!
Beautiful ladies!
Thanks – those “hear/speak/see no evil” pictures were from when they were tiny.
I so love this. I always try to see the light in every situation. Yesterday at the Transplant Clinic, I had to do this alot. Im not sick enough for a transplant but I am healthy enough to be home with my boys every day. I am in pain, but pain means I am alive and can feel. My husband couldn’t take me but I have the most amazing friend who wouldn’t let me go alone. There really is an upside to almost anything if you look hard enough. I hope your week is fantastic!
Thanks, Kim. You’ve demonstrated an extraordinary ability to do this. Those are uplifting words in your comment!
Grrrr: Getting to flu two weeks after having the flu shot (apparently it takes 3-4 weeks to fully cover you}
Great: Realising it means you can sleep in as long as you like, read, drink copious cups of tea and stay in your PJs all day.
My reality at the moment 😦
🙂
That’s a big grrr, Lyn (I never get the flu shot!) I have found a great in being sick, being able to not have to share snacks, watch all the January Jones movies I want …
I hope you feel better soon, friend!
Thanks, Eli.
Starting second lot of antibionics today. Do not want to end up with pneumonia or bronchitis agin
Stay tucked in!
Very inspirational.
Thanks, brother.