The End of the Discontent

It’s been a bad winter and I am just not speaking of the weather which for many of us this was a winter that we do not want repeated any time soon…no, I am speaking of my attitude and my loss of joy during these past few months.  I am not saying that I was in total misery, but many times my daily joy in the little things somehow vanished and I found myself in a winter of discontent. 

Friday I drove to the small town where my daughter lives and where my sweetie’s Memory Care Facility is located until I needed to move him from there to a nursing home facility due to the extra care he needed last summer.  I realized that as I made the drive how much I missed  this trek, this open road with farms on each side of the highway, growing corn or soy beans, or an occasional horse farm.  Prior to moving him this was a regular trip for me and usually after a visit I would wander the country roads snapping pictures of old barns, country roads, and occasionally I would come upon horses, cows or sheep.  This always brought me a feeling of contentment, of peace. 

As I drove yesterday I realized that this trip, this drive, this open road was a big part or lack thereof of my winter of discontent.   There were times when the snow would fall I thought that a drive to the country to capture the fields and barns covered in white should be on my agenda, but somehow I would inwardly talk myself out of going, thinking it might be too cold, or too ice covered, or too many back roads impassable.  So as the winter continued on, my discontent grew. 

Yesterday I spotted a horse running, and kicking, his head bobbing up and down as tho he had just been released from a winter of imprisonment and finally allowed to run free. Almost the way I was feeling as I drove the highway, altho I wasn’t kicking nor was my head bobbing up and down, but I had that same feeling of freedom. 

I witnessed the willows as the color of their flowing branches turn a brighter yellow, a sure sign of spring, and against the pale blue of the sky was a photo op waiting to happen. I saw fields freshly plowed waiting for planting, and a pick-up truck piled high with bags of soy bean seeds in preparation for spring sowing.  While I did see patches of snow, but after the amount of snow that blasted us this past winter, I was surprised that only patches remained.

After a wonderful lunch and girl-talk time with my grand girl, Brie, she wanted me to see her new “babies”….oh my, now what.  Brie’s ambition and her degree will be in zoo keeping, always having a strong love for animals this is the perfect career for her.  Her babies were a pair of gerbels….the only animals that are allowed in her apt at school.  Kinda reminded me of a couple of mice, but I had to admit they were cute.  It was definitely a challenge to capture this image....she NEVER stop moving.

Over at A Beautiful Mess, Elsie and Emma have challenged their readers to a 100 day happiness challenge.   And since my winter of discontent is hopefully drawing to a close, I want to be more joyful, more happy, so I am taking that challenge and each day for at least the next 100 days I am going to be "happy" about something during each day.  Almost like the 30 days of gratefulness I did in November.  I think happiness and gratefulness are coupled, don't you?

So day number 1 I am happy for spending the afternoon with friends enjoying a delightful concert and this beautiful bouquet of little pink mums from my fav flower vendor, Trader Joe's.

What makes you happy??

"A good life is when you assume nothing, do more, need less, smile often, dream big, laugh a lot and realize how blessed you are for what you have." 

 

-- Author Unknown 

Until next time.....