Are You Happy?

(Image from Alicia States Photography)

About 10months ago my husband and I made a HUGE decision for our family. We decided that Carl would leave his high stress but well-paying job for a move to Oregon where the unemployment rate was one of the highest in the Nation! Why did we do this? We wanted to be closer to family and we needed him home more. You see, he would travel for weeks at a time and we hardly ever spent time with him.

So we're here in Oregon and loving it. It's been a very challenging year for our family but we're so much closer as the result of it. Carl and I have done our best to remain positive and have a good outlook. And to be honest, I wasn't sure I was succeeding until the Stake Relief Society President asked me to speak at our Women's Conference (which is this Saturday). She said she had been watching me the last several months and noticed that I always had a smile on my face. Knowing our families circumstances she wondered how it was that I always seemed happy.

I've thought about that a lot lately and my conclusion is this: What other choice do I have? Should I wallow in my self pity thinking my life is so much harder then everyone else's. Should I sink into a deep depression and just give up? Should I stop going to Church because life's so unfair. No way! For ME, that's just rubbish! SO many people have it way harder then me. This was just one hurdle in my life that I was going to clear! I've never been one to give up...I HATE that.

Around every challenge and hiccup we faced I looked for the positive in it...I won't lie...sometimes it really sucked! But I got over it and took it one day at a time. Putting a smile on my face even if inside I felt a little beat up...cause you know by the end of that day...I remembered all the things that I was grateful for!

The result of this last year: Carl started a new job this week (that seems too good to be true, which is why I can't even speak of it for fear it might disappear tomorrow) and I'll be DONE with my talk at the Womens Conference.

So, if you're reading this and your life kinda stinks right now, remember this:

"We do not remember days, we remember moments"

Try to be cheerful for a moment. Maybe you can't promise to be patient for the entire year your child is 2. That's alright. You can be patient for a moment, and then for another moment, and then maybe for the moment in between that links the first to moments. You can do it!