Amazing

So last month right at the start of December when I found myself complaining nonstop about how busy I was I decided to be in a musical.  ha!  First time in almost 20 years!  Yikes that makes me feel old.  A friend of mine is starting an amateur theater group here in Katy.  I have a soft spot for this type of venture because I have so many wonderful memories of my own family being participating in community productions. 

So I jumped in and truth be told it made Decembe super crazy.  Curtis took it like a man and held down the fort while I left several times a week for hours and hours!  Daniel chose to be in the children's chorus so he got to come to a lot of the practices.  I have to admit that practices were an absolute blast and I began to really look forward to them.  I didn't know about half of the cast- almost all were members of my church but from various congregations.  There was also the cutest English couple who are not LDS and it took them awhile to figure out that they were hugely in the minority! 

Being in a play is such a unique experience- I wish everyone could do it at least once.  That same cute English couple said that back home amateur theater is very popular and many people are in a few productions each year!  I love that!  Why is it that here you only get to do fun stuff if you are super star talented or a kid?!  So annoying.  Annnyway- I have discovered that my brain is not as nimble as it was when I was a teenager (or maybe it's just too full of other stuff now- yeah that) but I really had to work at learning the words, harmony and choreography.  That work paid off though and it was so rewarding to be a part of such a fun show!  I had never even heard the music from "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" before. I have to say that I have watched the Donny Osmond version and ours is seriously better. :)

Our final performance was last night and we all felt a little blue about it ending.  I just adore the entire cast and had so much fun working with and getting to know them.  Daniel loved it too and says he definitely wants to do another show.  I feel a little bit changed by this.  I'm just reminded that I should remember to do things that I love and not just clean toilets and yell at kids all day.

 

Happiness?

Happy 2013!  Can't believe another year is beginning.  I used to make long lists of goals each year and then spend months feeling guilty that I couldn't keep up with it all.  So this year I have one goal- stop using mean words.  Whether it's when I'm driving or reading the news or breaking up a brawl between my kids.  No more "moron, idiot, etc..."  Pathetic right?  I should've had this one down years ago!  But here goes.  Wish me luck!

I'm feeling strangely optimistic about the future right now.  Probably in part because of a book I've been reading.  It's called "Abundance" and the premise is that humans tend to focus on the negative and assume bad things are coming.  But if you really look at the technology and general good will that is out there you will actually feel quite optimistic about the future.  And I do.  There are so many good people in the world and we need to give them all a little more attention (and less to reality stars and criminals- b/c what's more depressing than those people!)

I hear a lot of talk about happiness and how we can get there.  I was talking this over with a good friend of mine recently and we both agreed that expectations have a huge impact on our happiness.  I came up with an analogy:

One day you are running around, super busy and barely have time to eat.  You finally make it home and know you will have to settle for a bowl of cereal.  But to your surprise, your family has cooked up some pasta and fresh parmesan and even a little steamed broccoli.  You are SO thankful and enjoy every bite of the delicious meal.

But then a few days later you are again busy with life and looking forward to mealtime b/c your family is having New York Strip Steaks with homemade mashed potatoes and steamed green beans!  Yum!  But when you get home you realize you forgot to thaw the steaks and it's too late to start the potatoes.  So you decide to whip up some pasta and parmesan and frozen broccoli.  Everyone is so disappointed and complains bitterly about the lame meal.

So... same exact meal but very different responses.  (I used these examples for my boys b/c we've had both situations happen and they "got it")  I think life is a lot of like this and if you are always expecting so much from everyone around you or just from life in general then you will probably spend a lot of time being disappointed.  It's a little bit reminiscent of my college roommates' and my "hell theory."  Came up with it when we all lived together and basically it meant that we would just expect hell and be pleasantly surprised if anything better happened.  ha!  Decided to give that one up after a few years b/c it seemed a little negative.  But there is some truth there.  When I talk to my boys I realize that they are literally expecting: fun, new toys, fun playdates, gametime, yummy food, fun movies..... EVERY DAY!!!  And sometimes I get pulled in and run around trying to make that happen for them.  wha?

Of course I do this too when I expect so much from friends, family, my husband, etc...  it's like I want everyday to just be amazing.  And not only is that never going to happed but I wouldn't want it to.  Someone posted this quote on facebook the other day and I remembered how much it touched me when I first heard it:

And I DON'T think the message here is to "settle."  But it's more to appreciate and focus on all that is good and enjoy small things.  Pulled out my "One Thousand Gifts" list again and started adding to it.  There is so much beauty and goodness all around.  I'm hoping to give it all lots more attention in 2013.