Hey friends, chatting about Snatching Joy Wherever I can here today.

Lilacs blooming in my yard, so intoxicating!

It’s been a long week for me personally and also in our city of Manchester, NH. Thursday night – a lock-down on the west end – two of our city police officers shot during the night.

The officers are young, 27 and 28 respectively. Thank God they’ll both fully recover.

The schools on the west end were closed during the man-hunt yesterday. Thankfully the suspect, accused of robbing a convenience store earlier in the week, is now in custody. Exhale.

If you read here regularly you know I strive to stay positive and upbeat. But even more, for authenticity. Which is why I’m telling you the truth, what’s really going on here behind the scenes.

And my crab apple tree….stunning!

So how about for you?  How was your week? It’s a crazy world out there isn’t it? And none of us knows quite what’s coming down the pike next. That’s why we need to snatch the joy moments whenever/wherever we can.

Crazy life. And a busy one too.

Oops, did I say that? A few years back Jon and I made a pact that we weren’t going to waste our time or breath talking about our state of “busy-ness” anymore.

Well I think the topic came up initially because we caught ourselves responding to those who asked how we were doing, telling them about how busy we were. So boring and monotonous to the listener, for sure. (Folks were so polite, didn’t mention it.)

Because the truth is, whose life isn’t busy? So we’re choosing to call it “full”. Ha. Yes, we’re leading a very “full” life.

We find ourselves betwixt and between in a number of ways, but mostly with our kids right now. We’ve got an eighteen year old headed to college in the fall and our littlest guy Hudson with Down syndrome, just turned six.

Still in diapers, still waiting on words. Plus we’ve got a few boys in between.

The other day Jon and I spent the evening with our big guy working on college scholarship applications. Finally, finally….about midnight we all head to bed, thoroughly exhausted.

We’re met in the upstairs hallway by a tell-tale odor. Oh no. Hudson. A diaper. Upon further investigation, the pajamas also need changing. Also sheets. And mattress pad.

Jon bags up the offending diaper, hands it to me while he tucks the still-sleeping Hudson snug into his clean bed.

And I sigh in a whisper,” I am NOT taking this outside now,” and head to drop it in the hallway. And Jon, he quietly motions, takes the bag.

Raises the window sash, ceremoniously drops the bag out the window onto the front walkway. Shuts the window.

These crazy days, we just gotta think outside the box friends. And I’m thankful to be married to a man who does. Even at midnight.

So when life gets full, super saturated, how do we snatch joy? It can be elusive for sure.

I’ve been intentionally thinking about it this week, thought I’d share a few tiny ways I intentionally grab a little joy. Simple things.

• A fun paper straw in my water glass.
• A stroll through the yard, discovering the latest blooms.
• Writing a quick note to a friend on letterpress stationery.
• Texting a friend.
• A quick walk around the block.
• Savoring a hot drink from a hand thrown pottery mug
• Surrounding myself with beauty whenever I can.

• Shoes – fun ones.
• Dreaming of the future.
• Catching a glimpse of the sunset.
• A glass of wine with my love after a long day.
• A quiet few minutes at Barnes & Noble, flipping through my favorite magazine.
• Browsing at Paper Source or a specialty yarn shop.

So many more, but I’ll stop there.

I know people like this. And I want to be one of those souls – who find the joy everywhere – and leave it behind when they go.

So tell me friends, how do you snatch moments of joy in this crazy busy (oops…FULL) life?

Hope you’ll share, I’m all ears. Have a beautiful weekend, and grab the joy wherever you can!

You may also like: Buried or Planted

The post Snatching Joy Wherever I Can appeared first on Through Her Looking Glass.

Joy Thief  by allie taylor

And sadly, other times I almost relish it.

Woe is me.

But in my heart of hearts, I don’t want to. I know better. And I hate how I feel when I succumb.

Self-pity.

Noiselessly, it crept up on me without warning yesterday morning. When I was cheerfully minding my own business, starting the day, getting the kids out the door for school.

Through the monitor I hear Hudson chatter in his room upstairs. (You know Hudson, my nearly five year old little special needs guy.) I’m glad he’s busy, because I have cleaning to do, carnage from the recently departed lunch-making crew. Dirty cutting boards, knives. Crumbs, mayonnaise and jelly smears. Hum as I work, sip my tea. Soon she’ll arrive for our weekly basement workout. I so look forward to it. Hum humming along, smiling to hear the upstairs chatter, bookmark the funny quote I’ll tell her on the treadmill.

She’ll arrive in ten minutes. I race up stairs two by two to change Hudson’s diaper, get him dressed, give a quick breakfast. Halfway up I smell something. And I get nervous. Hudson and I, we have history. (She Picked Up Her Pen. Yeah, that kind of history.)

I find him happily rocking in his upholstered rocking chair, turning pages of The Little Engine That Could. Chortling to himself. I get closer, and all’s not well. Brown peeks from pajama pant ankles, spills onto the cushion. Little brown hands, a little brown chin. I deflate. Been here before. Not once or twice. More. I’m overwhelmed, discouraged at the gargantuan task suddenly ahead of me. The hurry in which it must be accomplished. I kick into action, lay out a towel, strip him down. Use a million wipes in the process. Bag up the clothes, the offending diaper, the pound of wipes. Start the bath water. And that’s when it quietly creeps in, on cat’s feet. When the voices murmur low…

• “Wonder how long he’ll be in diapers…”
• “Maybe he’ll never be potty trained…”
• “All your friends with five year olds, they’ve been finished with diapers for years now…”
• “Aren’t you getting a little old for this?”
• “Quite possibly you’ll be doing this the rest of your life…”
• “Diapers are expensive. Wonder how much you’d save…”

The voices of doubt, self pity, complaining, they mingle and rise. A dull roar, pilfer my joy of moments ago. But I recognize it. (Today I do.) Self pity is just that. A Joy Thief. A liar. A party pooper. (Pun intended.) A robber. And I choose to put self-pity in its place. (Today I do.) Fight back the only way I know how: speak truth.

Stop. It. In. Its. Tracks. Remind myself the many joys and blessings (read more about those blessings here: Glimpse of Sunshine, Can’t Buy This, Grace for Hudson, Embrace the Gift, They Didn’t Know ) I’ve received. How they far outweigh these fleeting moments in time, these doubts I let creep in.

    “Eucharisteo” – Greek for “to give thanks”                               Photo courtesy Lauryn Ortlieb

Maybe you have fleeting moments of self pity too? Don’t know your journey, the pity party that knocks on your door uninvited, when you least expect it. But know this. Self pity, it grows like a cancer. Eats from the inside out, leaves you nothing but a hollow, discontented shell. Whatever the hardship, pain in your journey, you don’t need self-pity along too.

Let’s do it. Let’s start counting. Counting blessings. You and me, separately. (Together.) We might just surprise ourselves. The murmurs and voices, they’ll return in the weak moments. But we’ll be ready, we’ll count. We’ll speak truth loud and clear. Truth about how blessed we truly are.

Please take a moment to share something you’re thankful for today…

“Count your blessings, name them one by one,

And it will surprise you what the Lord has done.“

Related post: Key Women

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