Happiness is a Choice

This week was definitey better than last week.  Why?  Well, I had to review how awful last week felt and then make some personal decisions to act, be and react differently.  I have long felt that the responsibility for me to be the nurturing voice in the home was almost too much pressure!  But because I love my kids and family, I need to give it a try.

So, this week I have been less concerned with making sure EVERYTHING is completed according to my will/desire/list and focused more on building up my children and my relationship with them.   I tried to be more focused on being balanced instead of feeling like I had to do ALL of the housework and ALL of the laundry and ALL of my homework everyday, I made a quick list that was manageable (ex: rinse dishes, drop in a load of Isabella's clothes to wash, tidy up the office, two vocabulary lessons).  And guess what?  I found it to be MUCH MORE MANAGEABLE.  Notice my list didn't include putting the washed load into the dryer.  It made my list look too long.  So, I put them in the dryer WHEN I FELT LIKE IT, instead of doing it because I needed to check it off of my list.  Seems simple and almost weird, but it worked.  I created a manageable list, completed all of it and then felt like I had more energy to accomplish more things, like put the clothes in the dryer, wash a batch of towels and dry and fold all of them too!  It was kinda cool how a more balanced approach to my day made such a difference.  It made a difference because IT TOOK THE PRESSURE OFF.  No one can function well with constant pressure - I mean, even teapots blow a little steam!

And as for my relationships with my kids.  Way better.  I took some of the pressure off of them too.  When my pressure was gone, magically, so was most of theirs.  They were just a bit happier and intereacted well with each other throughout the day.  They weren't perfect and didn't finish all of their chores, but oh well.  I reminded them of their commitments to their daily chores and said, "Let's do better tomorrow."  And, they did.  

So, what did I learn from this?  That I enjoy having happier kids!  And I don't like being a task-master, although I am really, really good at it.  I mean to think that MY OWN PRESSURE was causing extra pressure on my kids!!!  Gah!  They don't deserve that.  They have a hard enough job being kids and teenagers and all that comes with that learning curve.  So, I was able to catch a glimpse of how I would prefer to be and how I would like my kids to be, and ultimately how we all help each other accomplish that happiness.  Wow!  All from one little change?  COOL!

As many people have learned, being a parent is very, very hard work.  It takes practice and it takes falling down and getting back up and even apologizing to your kids when you had a bad day.  It is a lifelong process where sometimes, the only reward is a happy family who loves being together.  For me, that is the best reward that I will ever need.  

Happiness, I believe, is the place where you can truly see how our Father in Heaven sees us.  I am grateful for these glimpses in my life that keep me focused on an eternity.

Easter 2013