Some "Happy" Thoughts . . .

"We tend to forget that happiness doesn't come as a result of getting something we don't have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have." (Fredrick Koeing)

"Happiness is the only good. The time to be happy is now. The place to be happy is here. The way to be happy is to make others so." (Robert Green Ingersoll)

Okay, so I'm really trying lately to be INTENTIONAL with my attitudes--specifically, by having a GOOD, positive attitude in the midst of things that get under my skin, or can be just plain irritating or frustrating.

Case in point--yesterday, my washer decided to stop working right and sent piles of water flowing over its edge and onto my den floor. Negative Cheryl would have yelled and thrown wet clothes all over the floor in frustration. I was so proud of myself, though, because I reacted in the opposite way. I calmly tried to deal with the situation, and even later in the day went to the laundromat and washed/dried clothes (even though the fact that I had to take two hours out of my day could have normally ALSO made me very frustrated. Instead, I stayed in the moment and tried to find normalcy and even some joy in the situation. The girls played hide-and-seek in the laundromat and made friends with some other kids there).

Another case in pont--we lost our final District game last night 9-3. It was a frustrating game with a number of crucial errors on our part, but I tried to not to DWELL on those things. Instead, I found joy in the fact that Delaney got to pitch a full inning (and did great in it!!!); and tried to stay positive for the girls. (And now I'm even feeling kinda good because our lives can return to a little bit of normality--we can get back to swimming and I can get back to cooking dinners for us here at home!)

Life is really what we make of it! We can use all of our energy on being negative, or we can take that same energy and find something positive in even the difficult situations. And we can begrateful for the many, many blessings that we have--that so many people do not have!