Mine, All Mine

Uh oh... two consecutive blog posts in a row! I guess my "blogging bug" is back.

I'm sitting on my front patio, enjoying a perfect Oklahoma evening. I've decided there are few things better in life than sitting on the patio of your very own home.

Mine, all mine.

In fact I'm starting to appreciate these "mine all mine" moments more and more every day. I look at my house, my job, my friends and family and think... yeah, life is good. Of course I take no credit for it- it's all an absolute blessing from God- but it's nice to look at what a little faith and a lot of hard work will get you in life.

I've also done a lot of thinking lately about "choosing" my attitude. About choosing to be positive, to be happy, to be energetic. Choosing to let go of negativity and hurt. Sometimes it becomes comfortable to cloak ourselves in a certain emotion- especially when it becomes "the norm" for a period of time. For me, that emotion was hurt.

Work is hard; the hurt comes back. Life throws a curve ball; the hurt is never far away. It's like a little monster lurking in the corner, waiting to suck you back in when you're feeling low.

The best part of this whole blog post is that I am not hurt anymore. I'd like to think I've truly come full circle. I held onto the hurt for a long time because it was easier to feel that way than to think that- gasp- I may have actually moved on and healed and found myself happier than ever in the process.

That doesn't mean there aren't days when things sneak back up on me- little moments that give my stomach a jolt or my heart a twinge.

But now that a new emotion is the norm- happy- it's all a little bit easier to deal with. My default isn't to cry anymore, or hurt. It's to move on and appreciate all the good, the blessings, the happy.

And who couldn't be happy sitting on a patio on a gorgeous summer evening, looking up at her very own home?

Mine, all mine.