Who IS This Murphy Guy Anyway and Why Does He Have a Law?

Apparently he was Captain Edward Murphy and worked as an engineer at Edwards AFB in 1949.

Well Mr. Murphy, this whole law that “anything that can go wrong, will go wrong” didn’t really bother me until I became a mother.  When I was younger I would use the expression all the time without even thinking about it.  Would let things roll off my shoulders and not give it a second thought.  After all, it was just “Murphy’s Law.”  Now I’m singing a different tune.  Because quite frankly now Mr. Murphy, you and your law tick me off! 

Listen, to some degree, I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt.  How could you know that a flippant comment you made about a rocket sled experiment (yes, I did research it) would catch on so quickly and even make it into the dictionary?  I’m sure it fell into the “who knew?” category in your brain.

But for me, now that I’m a mom…this law has the power to totally de-rail my day.  It sets into motion things that I wouldn’t dream of happening.  It ranges from the little things.  The huge traffic backup when I’m on my way to pick up my child, or the scratch on a child’s face the morning before he goes in to get his pictures taken.  Or the night that your kids are starving and the meat you were going to cook for your meal suddenly has gone bad in the 24 hours since you bought it so you go to plan B and order a pizza.  The pizza is delivered, you pay the driver, call the salivating kids to dinner, open the box to discover that it’s the wrong pizza. 

Then there is the extremely annoying.  For example, who would even think that at the exact moment I’m trying to put a baby down for a much needed nap because he didn’t sleep well the night before, a jackhammer would go off right outside the bedroom window?  Or how about the night that one son gets his finger slammed in a door, and another gets an ear infection is the same one night that my husband has to work late when he rarely ever works late?  There’s also the time where I had to get out of the house to run errands only to discover my car battery was dead.  Or how about a fire engine zooming up the street just as I’m walking out of the baby’s room after putting him to sleep?  Or the door to door salesman who is pounding on the front door once again right after I put the baby to sleep? 

Do you see a pattern here?

Yeah, Mr. Murphy my biggest beef with your law is that it interrupts my childrens sleep (among other things), which in turn interrupts what little time I have to get things done around here, or hey…maybe even sleep myself.  It messes with the daily schedule and has the potential to throw everything off course for the day. 

So your little “saying” that you sent out into the universe all those years ago has a ton of power, and no doubt you’ve received a lot of flack from it.  I hope you’ve chosen your words more carefully since then. 

How has Mr. Murphy’s “Law” de-railed your day?