Amongst the Weeds
My son is unhappy.
Ayden moved to Texas last month. He was tired of the Pacific Northwest rain. He was ready to move out of his parents’ house. He needed some adventure. And he just wasn’t happy here. So he moved to Texas. And he’s unhappy there.
His job is unorganized and boring. It’s too hot to do anything (this Wednesday is supposed to be 111 degrees!). Everything is expensive. And he misses his friends and family (in that order).
On the one hand, I miss him desperately and on the other I am so proud of his bravery to do something so big. Before he left, we talked about how the address you get your mail isn’t what makes a you happy. Happiness is on the inside of us. Moving halfway across the US doesn’t change internal misery to bliss. After all… wherever you move, YOU are the common denominator.
My dad used super cheesy sayings… ‘If you’re bored, it means you’re boring’, ‘Stinkin Thinkin’, ‘Everyday is a blessing’.
I think happiness did come easier to my dad than a lot of other people. But he started saying ‘Everyday is a blessing’ while he battled cancer. He had created a lifelong habit of having a good attitude and focusing on the positive.
I don’t fault Ayden for all the things he’s feeling. It’s easy to see the negative, the difficult, the uncomfortable. My last blog was a long rant about all the ways my life is falling apart.
As I sit on my favorite purple lawn chair in my backyard today… resting and reconnecting… I’m pondering life. I’m evaluating my perspective. Am I focusing on the weeds in my life? Those pesky situations, the annoying people, the aging body? Or am I spending my precious moments focusing on the daily blessings that are there… sometimes as big as a sunrise… and sometimes as small as an itty bitty purple bloom in the midst of the vibrant weeds? The quality of my life LITERALLY depends on how I answer that question.
