happy

I've been analyzing happiness lately.  

It's been a reoccurring theme all over the place. Radio, books, life in general.

On NPR, Terri Gross interviewed an author the other day who wrote about parenting--a book called All Joy and No Fun.

Any hands?

Take this cute little baby that is pulling up to stand now.  I smile and clap and am so proud of her!

But now in her crib, she can't figure out how to get down once she's up.  And she's tired.  So there's more crying going on.

Plus she just might pull this wobbly rocking chair over on herself.  Well, there's no might about it.  She's done it.

AND, she can reach the lego table with all those colorful little bits.  It's her favorite go-to spot now. 

I'm consistently amazed at how I can be so happy and then so unhappy all in the same day. Those toddler emotional roller coasters have definitely rubbed off on me.

While I'm joyful at watching her accomplish these amazing milestones, it's not fun knowing there will be bumps and bruises along the way.

"Clap along, if you feel, that happiness is for you."

We are loving Pharrell's song, "Happy". 

It was our theme song over the snow break, and I even tried to get the kids to make their own music video with some new words.  Here's what we came up with:

Clap along, if you feel, that snow days are for you.

Clap along, if you feel, sledding's what you want to do.

Because I'm happy...

Clap along, if you feel, like an igloo without a roof.

Clap along, if you feel, like snowball fights are cool.

Because I'm happy.

Joaquin was so happy building this igloo.  He actually built two igloos:  one on his own, and the other with the help of his dad.  He nearly froze to death.  I had to force him to come in.  And he NEVER wants to stay outside.

The next day, the snow was so frozen, he could walk on his igloo.  

So I often wonder why I'm not happy.  

And I'll take you through my thought process.  Here's how my crazy brain works.

I thought about my husband and his happiness.  He gets up and goes to work and generally likes his job.  He gets lots of pats on the back and team lunches.  Not to mention those little things called checks, plus maybe a bonus every now and then.  He's acknowledged for all the work that he does.  That would make you feel good, right?

Then I imagined us trading places.  I'd go to work and he'd stay home with the kids.

But then I realized he'd love that, too.  He'd watch TV all day, play games and take naps.

And the little light bulb lit above my head, and I realized I'm just not doing anything for ME anymore. And I know this.  I've been ranting about it for awhile.  But I'm realizing it's in the little things, too.

So instead of folding clothes or crossing off one more To Do, I went to the gym this morning.  Yes, I'm dog tired, but exercise is good for people.  It makes them happy.  (Plus I could get a small break from my joyful children. Win-Win.)

Next, Diego and I had planned to eat at Chick-Fil-A.  This is not unusual for us when I go to the gym, but we almost always eat from the drive-thru.  WHY?  So I can get home and fold more clothes?  (Which is weird because me and three of my kids almost always have NOTHING to wear.)

What an amazing lunch we had!  It was SO HAPPY!  And I'm not kidding.  What a difference it was eating inside verses on the run.

Here's a bullet list:

*  Diego had the run of the playland.  There were no other kids at 11am.

*  Carmen had her first applesauce pouch and LOVED it.  She even figured out how to use it!

*  Another older couple couldn't stop smiling at us and even commented on how much fun we looked like we were having!

*  Carmen went in the playland for the first time and was squealing with excitement.  Diego banged at her through the plexiglass, we listed to the echo on the slide, we looked for the moon in the rocketship windows.  

I wished I had my camera, but snapping away can be distracting from enjoying the moment, and that's one of the important things about happiness.  Living in the moment.

And the day got even better.  Carmen took a huge nap and Diego and I were able to play tag and baseball outside in our melted, snow-soaked, muddy yard.  Our driveway is full of puddles, so we played 'throw the pebble into the puddle' and made up our own rules.  But then we discovered crystal rocks, and there were amazing treasures hidden among the moss-covered gravel.  We searched and searched until our hands were overflowing with beautiful, wet rocks.

And that was happiness to us.

I know I can't throw the to-do list away everyday, but how often can I?  

Once a week?

The sign at the gym says a one hour workout is only 4% of your day.  I can give myself 4% of my day.

I've been waiting for everything to fall into place until I can be happy.  And that's just not going to happen.  I have to choose to be happy...right now.

And right now, I can smile at this happy day I had.  (Although the evening turned to pot, but that would just ruin the story, wouldn't it?)

How about you?  What was the last thing you remember that made you truly happy? Please share it!