Happiness doesn't always make you feel happy

Man, I am REALLY bad at this blogging thing! Let's choose not to focus on my bad points...

I read this statement a while ago, and was immediately struck by its validity. I started to think about the fact that, while each day may not be happy, my life generally is. All the crap that happens day to day is usually necessary for an ultimately happy life. This weekend was a huge reminder of just that.

Noah and I are moving to a new apartment currently, and so far, it's not going so well. We moved all our stuff out of storage and into our new basement. I packed up all my craft stuff to move over to our new office/craft room/guest room/maybe a nursery eventually. (You'd think this room was HUGE based on it's sense of great purpose...). I made a plan to pack up the car with as much as I could each day and move it over, so that on actual "moving day," our job would be easy.

Two seemingly unhappy things got in the way of that...

First, Noah and I spent the entire weekend fighting. We attempted to find a practical solution for the multiple-purpose room, and couldn't agree on much. And by much, I mean nothing. Everything was too expensive, too big, too ugly, too cheap-looking, too impractical, too cumbersome, blah blah blah. I could go on forever because we basically did. Now, here it is Tuesday, and we have nothing for that room. However, by airing our dirty laundry in a very public place (by the way, worst place to be when trying to storm off in a huff = IKEA), and letting each other's opinions sink in for a couple days, we came to a fantastic compromise. We're very happy with our current solution and are excited to share our new space with good friends coming to visit in a couple weeks!

Second, I seem to have run out of time do to all this moving all of a sudden! My job at Mad Science has expressed an interest in my services for something other than mad scientisting!
It's some simple data entry stuff, creating flyers, and organizing schedules and the like. It may not be what I'm trained for, but it's certainly something I love doing. I enjoy creating things, and feeling that sense of accomplishment when I can check them off my list. Check! It could possibly get mundane, and I'm sure that eventually I'll miss being with children, but the job is constantly changing depending on the season and it might just mean I'll have to make my own children!

I'm feeling rather busy, and I certainly don't enjoy fighting with my husband. But once we get to the other side, we're able to see quite clearly why we had to follow a particular path. We may not always be happy, but we can be confident we're headed towards happiness!

My parents

Today, on the arrival day of their first visit to Portland since we moved, I am extremely grateful for my parents. There are so many reasons to be thankful for them, so this may take a few entries over time, but I'll touch on it today!

My parents, like man parents, have always provided for me in every way necessary. Obviously while rowing up, they kept a roof over my head, provided me a fantastic education, and even squeezed in some memorable family vacations. They were excellent parents who guided my sister and me in the right direction while also letting go every once in a while to watch us make our own mistakes. I'm not a parent yet, but I can only imagine that this is the hardest task as a mother or father. You think you know what's best for your children, and you want so badly for them to turn out well. But you have to remember that sometimes the best lessons are learned through your own mistakes. You must take your hands off their shoulders and trust them to make sound decisions. I've certainly made some mistakes along the way, but I'm so grateful that they allowed me to make them and come out a better woman on the other side.

One thing I hear people often say is that they want to provide a better life for their children than they had. This usually means they want to make more money than their parents and give their children lots of things. I think my parents had that same dream, but interpreted it in a different way. They invested their time in our lives, teaching us how to be good people who contributed positively to this world. They emphasized the value of family. They took an interest in what we liked and supported our decisions.

I'm so excited to see my parents today, and can't wait to show them the life we've built here in Portland. I can only hope that one day I can pass on the same message of "betterment" to my own children!

Berries

This may be a bit of a repeat, but the details are different.

Beth and I went berry picking on Saturday, and I realized, once again, how thankful I am for fresh Oregon berries! While the raspberries were gone for the summer, we had fun with marionberries (my first experience) and blueberries. We wandered along with our buckets, picking and eating and chatting. It's such a fun thing to do while catching up with a good girlfriend! A couple hours later, we left with 8 lbs of berries (in our buckets at least... who knows how much was in our bellies!) and countless ideas for what to do with them!

I've already made s marionberry pie filling, and I just need to take care of the crust and bake it. I made blueberry pancakes on Sunday morning, and plan on making a small batch of blueberry lime jam. There's still quite a bit left over, but I'm sure we'll have no trouble thinking of delicious ways to consume them!

If anyone's down for a visit, I'll have to take you out "picking" for whatever's in season!