I used to have a plaque on my wall with the quote, “Life isn’t about waiting for the storms to pass. It’s about learning to dance in the rain.” The plaque had special meaning for me and my youngest, so when he started his own household I gave it to him and his wife for their home.

The biggest difference between a happy life and a sad life is your attitude, honestly, it’s that simple. I have had people tell me that a happy attitude attracts good things in life, after years of such crazy things happening I do not believe that, I believe that the happy attitude makes it easier to bear. When my kids were 16 and 13 my son had been in and out of pediatric intensive care for months with uncontrollable high blood pressure, my daughter started 6 months of chemotherapy and all of her lovely hair fell out. I was trying to advance my nursing degree but was turned down for financial aid, in the middle of the semester, as my income had dropped so much, from 2 jobs to working one day a week while going to school, the school thought I must be hiding money. We lived in an income-based apartment and had no car, no cable or phone, and most of our food came from the food shelf, when my mom came to visit my power was shut off and she was horrified, the kids and I set up a fort in the living room and lit candles to tell stories, she said, “How can you laugh and be happy at a time like this?” Because she raised me, and she raised me to look for good things, in people and in the world. We were together, we were safe, that’s all that matters some days. We listened to the radio a lot in those days, and danced around the kitchen.

All of that happened within 18 months of being divorced, I actually called my ex-husband and told him, “You are so lucky I left you when I did, if I had to go through all of this, AND pretend to be happily married, I couldn’t do it, I would break.” I didn’t break though, none of us did. We did crack a little, but that’s okay, it lets the light out.

The biggest thing we can change in our lives today, right now, is our gratitude level. When you sit down and count your blessings it makes life much easier than counting your woes. I spend a little time in prayer each morning and each night for sure, in the morning I usually do my “thank you” notes to start my day off well. This morning, for example, I woke up in a comfortable bed, in a warm room, I was able to walk to my kitchen where I have healthy food to eat and clean water to drink. I have a car outside that always starts. I have access to the internet and amazing friends on a great webpage, I am surrounded every day by people who change my life, and I don’t even know what most of them look like. Oh, and I have a phone, and cable, and the lights are on. I have an amazing family and a God who loves me as a servant and a blessed daughter. My life is really pretty darn good.

You are the only one who can change your life and your attitude, what other people do and say don’t matter. Turn your own life around. Turn the music on. Dance in the rain, in the kitchen, in the living room, wherever you are. Dance. Be joyful. Be thankful. When you do it right, that IS the good thing you attract into your life, and happiness is what really matters, happiness, and love, of course. Love, peace, and hugs…

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