My Life Is A Soap Opera

When there were more soaps out there, this phrase was printed on all sorts of things--I personally owned notepads, napkins, and an apron. Sure, it was an exaggeration, even for those of us who spent hours watching our favorite stories. Our lives could never be as complicated as those written for the daily screen. Yet, one's life being a soap opera is perhaps not just about what happens, but about the importance we give it. Some days, my life is a soap opera because I have allowed a small drama at home or at work to become huge in my mind. Some days, my life is a soap opera because I'm aiming for things so far out of reach that they might be worthy of television. Some days, my life is a soap opera because my kids suddenly seem to have aged in the time between school drop off and school pickup. And some days, I wish my life could be a soap opera because I wish there could be dinner without dirty dishes, fashion without laundry, and a perfect looking home without a sponge or mop.

Whether we are dealing with the mundane matters of everyday life, or with the somewhat fancier matters of special occasions, we can choose (well, at least some of the time) to give our lives soap opera status. Do we allow the small to become oversized? Do we allow the barely important to overtake our thoughts? Do we manufacture drama where there really doesn't need to be any? It can be fun to imagine an oversized life, but when the soap opera aspect fills us with enough angst for a Friday cliffhanger, "my life is a soap opera" has gone too far. It's a fine line--much like knowing the difference between your favorite characters and the actors who play them. So, I'll keep the drama--sometimes. But when the episode is over, I will attempt to let it go--at least until the next one.