There is Joy in Life...

...even when it's hard to see. 

I decided to take today and really focus on the good things that happened.  Some days, blessings abound.  Others, well, I feel I can only be thankful I'm still breathing.  And I sometimes may feel these both in the same day, same hour, same minute.  

I make a point to not think about the obvious blessings.  Because truthfully, mentions of "Well, you may not _____, but at least you _____" or "Even though you don't have _____, at least you have ______" irritate me and don't make me any more thankful or cheerful about my current situation.  So I try to be very specific when thinking of good things that happened to me.

With that said, here's my list of good things that happened today:

1.  I didn't set an alarm after Jarred went to work, but I woke up earlier than I have all week.

2.  It was sunny outside today.

3.  I actually mopped the floors this afternoon.  It made me feel proud because I mopped before we left on our trip and I'm trying harder to keep things clean.

4.  Lucas, always and for everything.  

5.  I made crescent rolls to go with tonight's dinner.  I had about 4 of them and didn't feel guilty.

6.  Sweet tea has been aplenty.

7.  I made cinnamon streusel muffins tonight.  Jarred and I each had one and they were good.

8.  I hung a wreath next to our front door with 2 thumb tacks.  I'm not sure whether it will stay, but it looks nice.

9.  I walked into our living space this morning and smelled our apple cinnamon-scented plug-in.  It makes me happy to smell something nice and not cigarettes from neighbors that smoke right outside.

10.  Jarred is finally getting over a bout of sickness.  While he still needs to take medicine, he's not moping around with the 'man-cold' glum look on his face.

11.  I've kept my Valentine's Day candle on the warmer all day.

12.  Class was cancelled.

I should probably do this on a daily basis.  Days are long and there's plenty of time for good things to happen.  I look at the list and I think all the good things counteract the bad things.  Like having to pay a credit card bill and watching our bank account dwindle, having a project due, or an upstairs neighbor that won't shut up.  It's definitely easier to tick off a bunch of bad things, but that won't solve anything because the bad things are things I can't change (at least not now).  It takes effort to decide to be happy.  But it's easier to create a happy situation than a negative one.

For today, I think it's safe to say that joy wins it.