The Pursuit of Happiness

I was talking to a friend today just casually about something she'd written in her blog about being happy. She was right about a lot of things... like having a refrigerator on your porch and good flowers but mostly she inspired ME to think about things that make me happy.  I hate to say these things MAKE me happy. I believe personally that happiness is mostly a choice.

1.  I don't watch the news. Really. I don't. I used to. I did. I swear. But it's so damn depressing now and I just don't watch it. Was there REALLY anything on the local news that amounted to a hill of beans? Was there really anything on the news that I needed to know? Nope. Mostly not. So for the most part, I turned it off. And I have yet to regret it. No CNN or FoxNews. They both rot your brain.

2. I laugh a lot. I really laugh a lot. I don't know why. Well I sort of know why. Funny stuff just happens to me and I've just learned to laugh about it!  It's my coping mechanism. So while to some I may seem down right irreverent at times, trust me when I say I just love to laugh my way through all sorts of circumstances. I laugh when I have to chase the chickens back into the coop. I laugh when our Chihuahua, Roxy chews up another barbie doll. Well- I mostly laugh. Sometimes I curse under my breath and grit my teeth and smile and talk sweetly to her while I threaten to send her to the pound.


3. Listen to music. Good music. I don't listen to music that is degrading or ugly or sounds like pots and pans clanging together. I listen to everything from Billie Holiday to Billy Joel to Billy Currington and I feel good when I listen to music. I've always loved music and it makes me happy.

4. I have bloomed where I've been planted.  Thank GOD in Heaven I was planted in the country because I'm not sure I could bloom so dang well elsewhere. Despite the fact that our phone goes out when it rains, heaven forbid we need a firetruck in the rain because our dirt road is impassable, and we're a good ways from a Wal Mart, I love it here. I do y'all. I do. I know I say it a lot. It's because it's true. I've read magazine articles about women who live in the city but long for the country life. They are "urban homesteaders" and I am amazed at the country life they've carved out in the city. Awesome. It's not for everyone I know, but it is the only life I can imagine. A number of years ago, my former principal kidded my mother about living on the Ponderosa. The name stuck. Although it's not 600,000 acres on the edge of Lake Tahoe, it's pretty dang close in my opinion. My daddy loves it here more than anyone. He and Mama scratched and scrimped and worked their butts off their whole lives and I'm glad they love it here. Pete and I gave up VERY good jobs near Savannah to bring the girls here to grow up and I know they love living here too. Addie already picked out a spot to build her house right behind Poppy's garden.

5. I try new things.  I'm not so good at trying new things...mainly cause I'm stubborn. It's a character flaw that I inherited from my mother. I'm working on it, but like cholesterol, it's in my genes and I can't guarantee success. I do try though. I have always been repulsed by the whole idea of animals in the house. Dog hair, messes in the floor, etc... disgusting. However, my sweet Addie got a chihuahua for her birthday back in February. She is just the sweetest thing ever.  Heck I've gone from not even wanting a fish in this house, to allowing Roxy to sleep in a basket of clean clothes. She is a doll. I don't want another one mind you, but she is a doll.

6. I count my blessings, even in a recession.  I make less money than I made 5 years ago. I work harder than I did five years ago and it really doesn't seem fair. It irritates me when people say be glad you have a job, as if those being battered but not defeated by this economy don't have a right to be a bit disgruntled. I have a right to be, but I'm mostly not. I still like my job, but it's my colleagues who are my biggest blessings at work. I love laughing with them every day. There are no better teachers ANYWHERE. I also thank God for my two children whom I adore. I read somewhere recently a quote that said "the most valuable thing you'll ever have around your neck are the arms of your children".  I love them to the moon and back. Thinking about what a precious gift they are, makes me happy. Nowadays a good husband, two healthy children, a beautiful home and good food to eat are abundant blessings.

7. I get outside and get my children outside. Few things make me happier than watching my children play outside. (With SPF 80 sunscreen of course). Kids need the dirt y'all. Maybe my sweet Addie takes it to a bit of an extreme, but studies show that children raised in rural areas have fewer instances of asthma and other ailments. Researchers seem to think it has something to do with early exposure to germs in the soil. If that is all true, Addie will live to be the ripe old age of 346 by my estimate. I am glad that the children love to read, but reading can be done when the sun goes down or when it's raining. Get outdoors in the meantime! Even though I complain about it, dirty hands and faces melt my heart. I've also learned that if I want their butts outside, then I have to get MY butt off the sofa. If I want the kids to be active, then I have to be active. If I want the kids to eat veggies, then I have to eat veggies. See how that works?

8. I blog. I don't know if there's a single solitary soul out there who gives a hoot what I have to say about anything. I don't give a hoot if they give a hoot about what I have to say either! Mostly I say it to get it off my mind, or in the case of the children, so I won't forget. I don't want to forget Ali Grace's sweet smile right on the brink of growing up. I don't want to forget Addie's dirty hands and her sweet hairbow hanging desperately off the side of her head. If I don't write it down, I might forget and that would be terrible. I don't want to forget Pete shooting that mistletoe out of the tree a couple Christmases ago either. I just told that story today and figured I'd better write it down so I don't forget it.

9. I enjoy company and friends. I like having friends visit. We worked hard to build this house and I love entertaining here. The floor creaks in spots, the inside needs to be painted and I could keep myself busy every weekend for the next year and a half fixing what's broken or needs sprucing up. Don't care. I don't have the kind of friends who care about those things. Just friends enjoying each others company and remembering good times while something cooks on the grill. If that doesn't make you happy, I don't know what would. Our friends, the Tomlinsons, know they are good friends of ours. Why? Because when they come to visit no one has made the effort to make sure there's toilet tissue in the guest bathroom. They're family. I don't put on a big show for family. They know where to find towels and toilet tissue. That's how you can tell you're a close friend of mine. If you're a friend, I don't stress over you.

10.  Deleting and hiding people on facebook. Yes. It makes me happy. I LOVE deleting people who stress me out. People who constantly post their political opinions and religiosity irritate me. Is religiosity a word? I think people who do that are trying to make up for something that's missing in their heart. The more pious people try to "appear" the less pious they probably are. I hope they fix all that but in the mean time, I don't have to read their constant judgmental nuttiness on facebook.  Life's too short people. It really is and hiding people on facebook is a much more Christian thing to do than to cuss them like a low down cur dog or whacking them in the back of the head with an iron skillet like I really want to. People who post all that liberal wackiness and people who post all that right wing insanity annoy me. If you do that more than 3 times a day, you are probably victims of the hide or delete feature. No hard feelings but you are almost as annoying as people who use commas to make a singular word plural.

Happiness really is a choice. I need to remind myself of that fact some days. Accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative. This might be something I need to re-read often.