Bad hair days. (Times of Your Life).

They say that into every life some rain must fall. I just wish I'd known they were talking about my life. And that someone had pointed out that the rain would wait to fall on a day when my hair had come out better than usual. And when there wasn't an umbrella to beg or borrow. Not that you can prepare for these kinds of things. Bad hair days happen to everyone ... and I'm not just talking about the kinds of days when your hair literally doesn't come out right, although technically they count. Bad hair days encompass much more than actual tresses.

When your hair flops, it is just a minor irritation in the scheme of things. But it's the minor irritations in life that can really get you down. Bad hair, scorched meals, ruined laundry, cranky kids, unforeseen expenses. One at a time, maybe, they wouldn't be so hard to handle. But they rarely come individually. Instead, they prefer to hang out in packs. Everyone goes through days when the least little thing puts them almost over the edge of insanity.

That's why it's important not to discount the small stuff. If unimportant things are sending you off the deep end, it's just a signal that something serious is wrong. Taking time to deal with the serious stuff now will make the little things much easier to laugh off later.

One of the best things you can do for yourself is to dump your mental garbage on a regular basis. I used to be able to do this while I ran. My mind would go into autopilot and start reeling through everything simmering on the back burner that I hadn't taken the time to address. As I processed it all I could let go of it. I was emptying my mental garbage. I found that the more often I ran, the less garbage I had to dump. Instead, I could put my mind to work on solving any other problems I was having.

Since my knee surgery I haven't been able to run, but I find walking works just as well. Maybe your best thinking time is on a bicycle or driving aimlessly on country lanes. Maybe it's while listening to certain music or praying. Freeing up your mind will give you more energy to deal with little stresses.

Sometimes I find that when it doesn't take much to irritate me, it's because I've let clutter creep up. Cluttered surroundings result in a cluttered mind, and when your mind is cluttered, it doesn't take much to overload it. If clutter is making it hard for you to cope with life's little curveballs, maybe it's time to tackle it.

Friends help us cope too. Just knowing there is someone there who cares about your problems is sometimes enough. My friend Kirsten and I often call each other to air our grievances about life in general. Knowing that she understands why I'm frustrated validates my feelings, and sometimes she has suggestions that help me out. If not, at least I feel I've been heard. And listening to her problems puts new perspective on mine. If my toilet is backed up and her bathroom is ripped apart for remodeling, I can feel grateful that I don't have her problems. And there are plenty of times she can feel grateful she doesn't have mine. Half the time we laugh so hard about them that we feel better ... even though nothing has changed.

Yes, into every life some rain must fall. You can shake your fist at it. You can hide from it. Or you can put down your umbrella, splash in the puddles, and sing at the top of your voice. It's up to you.

Celeste perrino Walker survives her bad hair days in Rutland, Vermont.