If You're Happy and You Know It.....

I've been doing a lot of thinking lately about what makes me happy and what I want to do with my life.  The huge lesson that I have learned from losing my dad is that life is short.  It is a recurring thought in my head every day.  When someone cuts me off in traffic, life is too short to get angry at someone who most likely didn't even realize they cut me off because they are busy in their own world.....and on and on.  Life is full of tiny annoyances that can lead to you spending your day upset, annoyed or angry.  And for what?  More likely than not, whatever or whoever you are upset about is not spending any time thinking about you!

I got into a conversation today about making life changes to make yourself happy.  A great lesson we can all learn in life is to go for what makes us happy, no matter how scared you are to make a change.  Life is too short to waste it anywhere other than where you want to be.  No one can make these decisions for you and no one can make you happy other than yourself.  I have realized lately that throughout this past year I have been wishing at times for someone to come and rescue me from the grief I have been feeling.  For someone to come along and do something or say something that will just make it all make sense and help me to be in a happy place.  The other day, it just hit me like a ton of bricks.....the person I have been waiting on is ME!  You and only you can control whether you are happy or sad, positive or negative, joyous or full of gloom.  You can't control what anyone says or does to you or what experiences life throws at you but you are the only one who has complete control over how you react to a situation.  You are the only one who can decide that you are going to be happy. 

I think I was wishing someone would come rescue me because that's what my dad always did for us.  Any time I had a problem, we would sit down and talk about every aspect of the problem and possible solutions until we had a game plan.  I guess I've been wishing there was someone else I could go to in that way who could help with this, the biggest obstacle I have ever faced.  The truth is, he wasn't solving my problems for me.  I now realize that he was teaching me how to solve my own problems.  Of all the wonderful things my dad did for me, probably the greatest thing he did was to live and let me watch him do it. 

And the lessons continue......

One last thing before I go.  A few pictures of the number 1 thing that makes me happy:

All dressed up for church.  What a doll!

much love,

Gina