9/30/09 Happiness and Hugs

So, I'm back.  Whaddya know!?

I've been spending quite a bit of time lately thinking about my own happiness.  Kind of stepping back, taking a look at my life, and evaluating different aspects of it.

There are certain recent changes at work that have made me very upset.  I try very, very hard to leave work at work, and nothing makes me feel worse than bringing crabbiness home to my family.  I have lost a lot of the flexibility that I used to have, have been informed that it will be several years before I'm eligible for a pay increase, and may have to work later into the evening, when I was actually hoping to chang emy hours to start earlier in the morning and get done earlier in the afternoon.  Not to mention the changing job function, new location, etc, etc, etc...

I tell you what.  My kids might not notice the dirty laundry in their rooms that they step on every day.  They might not notice the video games strewed all over the living room floor that weren't put away.  They might not notice that the once dirty refrigerator is not magically cleaned.  But man, they sure can tell when I'm stressed out.  And nothing cures my stress like a pair of 7 year old and a pair of 9 year old arms squeezing my neck a little too tight.  Nothing.  How do they know when I need their hugs?  They are magical.  I have always loved little kid hugs.  Something about a little piece of their energy that magically transfers from their little bodies into mine when they are squeezing with all their might.  I hope and pray that my kids will continue to want to hug me at any given moment, even if it's in public or in front of their friends.  They always, always, make me feel better.

So when I'm stressed out about work, or my weight, or how we're going to make the next mortgage payment without having to eat ramen noodles for dinner for the next three weeks, i try hard to think about the things that make me happiest in life.  My kids and my awesome husband are in that #1 spot on my list.  How lucky am I to have this perfectly perfect little family?  Of course the kids fight, what kids don't?  But when Morgan is helping me cook dinner and tells me that her brother let her wear his jacket when they were waiting for the bus together that morning, and my heart begins to gush, GUSH I TELL YA!  I realize I must be doing something right.  I have a job that provides me with a pay check every other Friday, and allows me to buy the new brown gloves that match the new brown and pink jacket and snow pants set, which puts the most beautiful toothless smile that you've ever seen on her face.  That is one of my favorite things to do.  We might not be able to buy the most expensive goalie stick out there, but there is a goalie stick.  And it is red and shiney.  And it also put a smile on one of the most important faces of my life.

Yes, kind of a gushy posting, I know.  I hope they aren't all like this.  I'm just getting the really important gushy ones out of the way right away.

Smiles and little kid hugs...

NH