Happy List

Image credit (here)

Awk!  Where has the time gone, I didn’t realize I hadn’t posted last week!

I’m happy to report that all is well on the Exie front.  I cringe a little bit when I write that, because I worry I’m inviting drama by acknowledging that there currently isn’t any—that’s my superstitious nature or my anxiety, arggh!

And while I know I can’t control my feelings, I can control my behavior.  So while I sit here and manage the anxiety, I’m also going to focus and write about happy things going on these days.  Change the scenery, so to speak.

1)     Squirrel is doing well at school.

2)     Ladybug is doing well at school, settling into her new routine.

3)     Hubby is embracing working out and being on a diet—his goal is to lose 30 lbs, and I’m so impressed at his dedication!  I’ve been worried about his health over the last two years, and I’m so happy he’s taking it seriously.

4)     My anxiety is only waking me up once in the night (instead of multiple times).

5)     I celebrated a dear friend’s 40^th birthday, by surfing, drinking prosecco by the hotel swimming pool, and then swimming in said hotel pool. I mean really, what can be better than that?

6)     I’ve made some new acquaintances; we meet weekly to work on yarn/sewing projects over the lunch hour.

7)     I finished knitting a pair of socks for my mom, putting in the mail today!

8)     Embarking on new work projects that I think will help the community—this one is a bit amorphous and anxiety inducing, but oh well, keep on keeping on.

9)     Will be traveling to a dear friend’s wedding in November, and having a reunion with her and two sweetheart college friends for a girls week end!

10)  Exie agreed to keep the girls for the one extra night due to this traveling, and bonus, offered a swap since he will also be traveling, and I’ll have an extra holiday day with the girls. Yay!!

11)  I’ve been able to have some lunches with girlfriends that I don’t get to see very often these days—it’s really special to be able to catch up and spend some time together.

You know what, I think I’ll stop while I’m ahead on the happy list.

But I’ll end this post with one more thought, a light, I hope to help shine out some of my darker thoughts, inspired by the great Lisa Thomson’s post our lives as books—when I was little, I loved to read, and I loved the magical adventure novels like The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, or A Wrinkle in Time, etc.  And I thought maybe I’d grow up and have an adventure, maybe overcome some evil, maybe save the world!

And now?  Instead of that lofty goal of overcoming evil, lol, I hope that somehow, I’m able to help the people around me, my family, my friends, the people I work with.  I hope that I can teach my daughters how to be kind, how to be loving, how to be forgiving, how to be strong.  I hope that I can be kind and loving in all that I do, which is a tall order considering the $!@#$ that exists in the world.  But given that !@#$, I don’t want to sink into cynicism, I don’t want anxiety to rule my behavior and choices.  I hope I can be a light—for myself and my kids.