A self-proclaim grump and curmudgeon, I'm no expert on being happy. I resonate with the Muppet hecklers. My best friend gave me a "meh" t-shirt for Christmas last year. Like the stereotypical teenager, my response to queries about my current state is that I'm doing "fine." I shrug often.
meh.
That the bleak backdrop of depressing fog, I read with interest Lori Alexander's post You're Just Not Happy Anymore in Your Marriage? Not that I'm unhappy; my wife is wonderful. Still, there is a wide continuum sprawling from actively unhappy to positively thrilled. I tend to float, like kelp dragged along the beach by waves, somewhere in the "meh" category.
Lori writes, "Being happy and joyful comes from doing what is right and what is best for others, not what feels good." The comments point out that marriage is hard work (and it can be absolutely devastating at times), but worth it.
The same is true of homeschooling.
We'd love every day to be full of "light bulb moments," of laughter, of sheer glee at all the wonderful learning going on. Alas, that's not perpetually the case. Many days can pass where you may just not feel happy; meh. Things aren't bad, but they're not unicorns and lasers either. It's hard work, this teaching thing. "Mundane" may be just right.
Lori is on to something. Do what is right. Find joy in the work you do in raising and teaching your children. Perhaps take a moment to reflect on how far they've come in these few short years. Make it a point to find joy in the little things, the daily tasks, the opportunities.
And if things go really badly today or tomorrow, just remember what Statler and Waldorf say when things go wrong, "It's either this show or indigestion." But you don't have to hope it's indigestion. Because mercies are new every morning.
How do you find happiness in the midst of difficult days?
~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Pseudo-Dad
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