What brings me JOY

I read Momastery the other day. That blog often makes me thoughtful. Today's post was about finding the joy in life for yourself, what makes YOU happy, how our children want US to be HAPPY, not thinner, not with more stuff, not with a bigger house. How they want their parents to be happy.

It was hard for me, for a long time, to know what brought me joy. I kind of forgot. It's especially hard, I find, when your children are very little, and you work, and you stay home, and you have so MUCH on your plate. I don't suppose my plate has less now, but it's different, and with the kids being a little older, I am able to disengage from things they can do on their own (like grabbing a snack, entertaining themselves, putting their own dishes in the dishwasher).

Now I have a lot that brings me joy. And man, I see it on my kids faces when we are laughing together, or doing something silly, or just enjoying a walk. It's not like those moments are all day long, but they are there, and I try to be more me with them as they get older. I sometimes realize I am a lot more fun around my 19 year old niece - she is like a friend, which is entirely appropriate. But she sees the person that I am more than my kids do - I am more a taskmaster with them, which, again, is entirely appropriate.

Anyway, it's nice to feel like I'm doing this part kind of right - enjoying stuff, having my own joy (with some guilt, but that is fading!), and enjoying time with them, too. WITH them.