Day #50

I'm at the halfway point in my #100HappyDays challenge.  I've not consistently posted to the blog every day, but I have done well personally taking a moment each day to think about what makes me happy and what I'm grateful for in my life.  I've done well sharing that each day on Facebook, which is good, because it gives me a record to catch up on here.

Honestly, some days it wasn't easy for me to even want to pay attention to something that brought me happiness.  My mom has recently returned to the hospital with dizzy spells.  They are going to monitor her for a while.  They think it might be her heart.  I had a nice chat with her today on the phone.  We laughed together.  One of her bedmates sings on and off all day.  I could hear him in the background.  Made me smile.  My dad had an operation on his prostate this month.  It didn't turn out the way he had hoped, but he's still optimistic.  I just talked with him on the phone and we shared a laugh as well.   My Aunt Lorna is in what we believe to be the last days of her life.  My cousin and her children will be by her side this week.  I've been seeing updates on her Facebook account.  My thoughts are with them during this very difficult time.  And then, of course, we're in the process of selling our house to move across the country, putting greater geographic distance between us and our family, leaving behind a home we've lived and loved in for the past nine years, friends we've gotten close to, and friends we're just starting to get to know. We're very much looking forward to the move and the new adventure that lies ahead of us, but it's a stressful process nonetheless.  Saying goodbye is never easy.

But, this #100HappyDays practice is helping me understand that a life well lived has a lot to do with the choices we make moment to moment, each and every day.  There will always be difficult times and/or challenges to overcome. But peppered into adversity are often breaths of relief—sometimes short, sometimes longer.  I'm learning to look for them and pay them their due respect.  I've noticed these past several years that my parents have gotten really good at finding those happy beacons, even during their most difficult times.  I hope in time, with more practice, I can cultivate more of that spirit for myself as well.  It's truly a gift to those we love if we can manage to do so.