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The Day of The Black Dog
Why do some days feel worse than a bad cup of coffee?
You know how it is. You wake up and the world feels like it’s just fallen in. Even your coffee tastes bad, and there’s no reason for it. Yesterday was fine, but today is not.
Why is this?
I don’t know.
I was having a perfectly good day last Thursday — the sun was out, the birds were singing, I went for a run, I felt alive and good. The next day I could hardly think. As soon as I woke up, I knew it was going to be a bad day. I said to my wife, I’m going out today.
She knew I had The Black Dog.
So I go out somewhere — anywhere. It doesn’t matter. Some people might think of something nice to do. But when I feel like this, nothing is going to improve my mood. I’ve got to ride it out and hope tomorrow is better.
I live in rural Normandy, so I generally drive to the town or a local village, walk around a bit and have a coffee or a cake. Maybe chat to someone. French rural folk can be pretty down themselves, so I think they understand when someone is low. It comes with the territory. Living rural is wonderful, but it can get you down, especially after a hard winter.
