On Choosing Happiness

Hi,

Don't know really what I want to say on this blog of mine, I think I will just see what evolves. I started this because of a conversation with a friend of mine about choosing to be happy. We were both unhappy with where we were living and going through a transition in our lives. My transition was moving from the Northeast to the Atlanta area and leaving my family, friends and church. I was nearing my mid 40's and not finding a lot in common with all the young families in my neighborhood and I was in the beginnings of menopause, my oldest was in Sweden as an exchange student and my 13 year old had his own needs and adjustments to go through and my husband was enjoying the challenge of his new job. Meanwhile, I was home with the 2 dogs and feeling fat and frumpy and getting fatter and frumpier as time kept marching on. Early on in this transition I decided not to be depressed and decided to keep choosing to be happy and content.
Now I wish I could say that this choice made the transition to a new area any easier, I still miss living closer to my family and that definitely has not gotten any easier during the last 7 years. I think I will always regret not being near my parents and missing a lot of these last years with them. They are now 79 and 80 and in frail health and with the boys in college and seminary it was difficult to find the money to travel back to NY to see them and they were unable to visit us here. However, making the choice to be happy has made a tremendous difference in my life
I was talking to my friend the other day and after 7 years she doesn't seem any more content or happy with her life than she was when I first met her. She has moved from GA to NC to GA to VA to NC and her house is up for sale again! She is looking for the perfect house to make her happy. Meanwhile, I had a part-time job that I enjoyed, welcomed an exchange student from the Netherlands into our home, found a new church, I became an emptynester and realized that just like when your child takes its first steps you hold your arms out to catch them if they fall and rejoice in their new accomplishment. When they leave for Sweden or collage, you hold your arms out to catch them when they fall and rejoice when they are successful! I lost my job and so far I don't really miss it! I took a pottery class and have a shelf filled with little pots that I have made and plan to make bigger pots in the future! We all miss the two Shelties we had but I welcomed a new pound puppy into my life and this furry friend has me out walking about 4 miles a day Where once I hated how hot the summer days were, I now feel joy when I watch this pup run through the woods. I'm now 50, and maybe still a bit on fatter side than I would like to be, but whenever I feel blue I keep making the choice to look on the brighter side of life and while my life is not where I had envisioned I would be I have no regrets about making the choice for happiness instead of complaining to my husband, kids and anyone who would listen
about how much I hated living in Georgia!