Thanks to the 4th of July falling on Sunday, yesterday was a “day off” from my employer. Like many others, I awoke to a day with no work on the agenda. Great day right? Not so much. The day was not a day off, it was an off day. Ever had one of those days? Ever had a day when you’re grumpy, don’t want to talk and don’t want to be talked to. You don’t want to be touched and you don’t want to touch anyone else. If there was a box that you could crawl into, you would. It’s not a day off, it’s an off day.

So what do you do when you have an off day? What do you do when you have people counting on you? What do you do when there are expectations to how you should act and a reputation for being “light and fluffy on the outside” and inside there is a battle raging? It’s no one else’s fault, it just is what it is. It’s an off day and they can even happen on your day off.

Pain can do that (both physical and mental). Addiction can do that. Stress can do that. Fear (real or imagined) can do that. Satan can do that. Sometimes, there is a perfect storm of all of the above that can combine to make the ultimate off day. What I learned yesterday is that the key is to communicate that with the ones you love. They can shield you from others and extend grace where needed. Failure to communicate what you’re dealing with only drags you deeper into your off day because others get hurt too (remember “hurt people, hurt people”).

While I long for a day off, I dread an off day. I don’t ask for them or schedule them, but if you’ve ever had one, you’re not alone. Off days happen to many if not all of us….even on our day off.