Joy in the Journey

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Esmé's Mommy here.

I'm supposed to be getting ready for work right now, but I'm a procrastinator. I'm just not that into facing the cold wet 50-minute drive to daycare and then to work.

Some people find travel relaxing. I find it a time to think about new things to add to my to-do list.

So let's work on finding the positives, shall we?

The commute isn't bad - a nice long stretch of road where the only thing I have to watch out for is avoiding the deer.

We have a bare bones 1998 Ford Escort, no AC and only a radio for entertainment. It gets good mileage and hasn't required any significant repairs. At 205,000 miles, it's quite the reliable car.

And I get to see this cute face in the rear view mirror!

Singing away to KLOVE, nice and loud.

Now, if that doesn't bring a smile to the journey, I don't know what will.

(And no, I don't make a habit of taking photos while driving. But I checked to make sure there were no deer in the vicinity first.)

Happy traveling, folks!

Early Morning Joy

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Esmé's Mommy here...

4 a.m.

Dark. The quiet time. My date with God. And my me-time. When I can sit at the computer without guilt feelings and do my own thing.

On this morning, I hear little steps stumbling into the room. “My eyes! My eyes!” The bright light in the living room is too much for Esmé’s baby blues, and she rubs at them ineffectually.

She stumbles over to me, and I reach out to her. “Why aren’t you in bed? It’s sleepy time!” I say.

“I don’t want to lie down! I don’t want to lie down…” Her protests die as I pick her up, carry her back to bed, and crawl in behind her.

I pull up the covers and snuggle with her, tucking her head beneath my chin. I embrace the warmth and take deep sniffs of her fruity-smelling hair that is tickling my nose.

Fleeting thoughts of the blog post I could be writing are shoved to the back of my mind. I wouldn’t trade the world for this sweet moment with my baby girl. I’m in love with this little one, I tell you.

Pure joy.

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Check out Good, True and Beautiful for more Joy-filled posts...

Laughter...

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Esmé's Mommy here... again.

Tuesday was one of those days. Esmé was completely uncooperative in the morning, so ended up on time out and didn't even get to go to daycare, much to her dismay (and ours). Don't you love it when the kid's discipline affects you more than the kid?

So Pappa, who landed on daycare duty, was heading for a much-needed reprieve to a racquetball game that afternoon.

And this Mommy here was all excited about this terrific giveaway she won and wanting to start printing tot school stuff on the printer (more on that later).

Of course, the color ink was out.

So I got out the ink cartridge refill kit, which I've never used before, and scanned quickly through the manual. Got it! I set everything up on the very messy kitchen counter.

I poked through the ink refill holes with a pen, filled up the syringe with blue ink, and filled away. A little messier than anticipated - the ink was bubbling over and leaking out of the bottle, the cartridge, and the syringe.

And Esmé wants to help. I'm already feeling pressured from the mess, so this is NOT what I need. She brings over her ladder and starts to manhandle the equipment.

I rinse out the syringe, accidentally shooting it upright in the cleaning process and getting blue-colored spray all over the kitchen curtains. Permanent stain.

Esmé continues to "be involved."

That's the only way I can explain what happens next. I need some sort of excuse...

Yep, I put the yellow ink into the magenta section. And the magenta ink into the yellow section. All very neatly this time, I must say.

Now I'm very flustered and stressed and upset, and Esmé continues to putter around, and I can't stand the chaos anymore.

So I put the ink cartridge into the printer anyway - to at least get it out of the way. And I print.

And I laugh. And Esmé joins me.

So what if everything is the wrong color?! I've got a whole new perspective on life now. Colors are beautiful, no matter which order they come in.

And now I have one more reason to get kitchen curtains. Ones that cheer me up whenever I see them.

Yes, I'll have to get a new ink cartridge for the serious schoolwork.

But once again I've realized what an amazing de-stressor laughter is.

Here's to laughter!

Now excuse me while I go deal with the waterfall cascading down the front of our stopped up kitchen sink, where Esmé is washing dishes. Looks like a perfect opportunity to mop the floor...

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Join Sharon at Good, True and Beautiful for Just for the Joy of it on Thursdays for a hatful of joy...

Choosing Happiness

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Esmé's Mommy here.

“I choose joy.” I’ve been telling myself that. That it’s not a question of circumstances that determines our state of mind, but rather the attitude we choose to put on each day, each hour, each moment.

And the facts seem to support this. Check out the photos of the orphans in Zimbabwe. They have far less than I do. They’ve lost loved ones. They have no guarantees of their next meal. Yet most of them are smiling.

Compare to some of the rich and famous I know who have suicidal tendencies.

So the evidence is that having the best of everything doesn’t bring you happiness.

On to the next step in the journey to happiness. Can I find happiness simply by focusing on the things that make me happy? Things I already have? Things like hot chocolate and baby giggles. Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens. Surely I am surrounded by things that make me happy if I just look closely.

So I focus on these things. I make a mental note of them throughout the day. And at the end of the day, I truly am grateful. I’ve had fleeting moments of happiness throughout the day.

But it isn’t enough. I keep searching for more. Something with more meaning.

Could it be that my focus is on the wrong thing? That rather than pursuing happiness, I need to pursue the Creator of happiness?

So let’s take the focus off the pursuit of happiness. Take the focus off me, whether I’m happy or not. Focus instead on making others happy. On listening to the Creator’s voice. Responding to it. Doing His will, even if I don’t see immediate happiness in sight.

At the end of the game, will I have chosen the path to happiness? It’s worth checking out…

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Submitted as part of the MamaBlogga Group Writing Project.

Joy

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