Oh Well

Those two words cover every mishap that comes along, the small misfortunes of life.

My first use of those words came on a family camping trip.

As I stumbled from the tent that first morning, I saw a blessed person had stirred the fire and put hot water on for coffee. But in dipping the water from our bucket by the fire, they had picked up a few pieces of bark.

I hesitated. The black chunks were at the bottom of the pan. But the water was boiling and I wanted coffee. So I poured a cup of the brewed bark and stirred in a spoon of instant.

Eh, not bad.

Then I settled into a camp chair. I didn’t have long to wait.

My brother shambled from his tent, mumbled something vaguely human, and walked (more or less) to the fire with his cup.

He reached for the pan. Stopped. Froze.

Then shrugged and poured a cup.

After twenty-three years, the memory still makes me laugh.

The definition of Oh Well.

Mishaps will occur in the course of our career. Lost files, power outages, agents who promise but don’t deliver (grrr). I do what I can to fix the problems but at the end of the day, if I can’t make it allll better, then I use my magic, most perfect two words in the world:

Oh Well