Picture Perfect Scenes
”Happiness is in the heart, not in the circumstances” Anonymous
Good morning! The vision of the happy family eating homemade meals every night, having family time once a week, and anticipating the annual family vacation is a great one. But for the most part, it’s just that: a vision. We are much more likely to go through “spurts” where we feel we are pulling together as a family, and go through times where it seems no matter what we try, we’re falling apart.
Occasionally, our vacations will be wonderful. Other times they’ll be filled with sick kids, sunburn, or lost luggage. Sometimes we will all sit down to eat together. Other times there is bound to be a last-minute meeting, an after school sport, or, if we do all sit down-a burnt dinner because the chef is in shock at everyone’s arrival.
But what makes the difference between the good trips and the bad? Take, for example, two families who have excitedly planned a picnic. The day for the picnic arrives-and storms arrive with it. There is no hope of the outdoor jaunt that the family craved. Why does one family complain about the weather, mope and pout, while another family throws the picnic blanket down on the living room floor, grabs the snacks and a board game and enjoys a day “in”?
It all ties back to priorities and attitude. If your priority is truly your family, sure it will be a disappointment that it’s raining, but you can focus on the fact you still have your family together, and there are plenty of other ways to spend your time. If your focus is elsewhere, you are likely to mope, since the picnic probably became a vehicle for “using up the time,” because you felt it necessary.
Your Turn: When plans change and good intentions go awry, don’t give up. Step back and look for ideas to make the most of what you have in the here and now.
Today’s Affirmation: I promote happiness and togetherness.
December 2nd, 2008 at 7:53 am
My hubby and I were sitting last night talking about the holiday.. Since both fathers have passed away we have been afloat. This year is the worst. We discussed not sending holiday cards or even letters this year. We have no cheer. I am not sure where it went, or if it will come back.. It makes me sad to realize the only part of the holidays we seem to enjoy is the one station that plays holiday music 24/7. I guess we should realize that now that we are older, with no little ones and very little family we should try new ideas that mean something to us. Right now it seems like a blue tinted holiday.. hopefully it will get better
December 2nd, 2008 at 11:26 am
This is so true. In our family when we vacation, it seems that something unexpected happens. When our youngest was a baby of 5 mo. and our other two were 4 and 5, we decided to go visit friends in Pennsylvania. We left and were expecting a perfect vacation. After we arrived in PA, we went swimming with our friends and took our van. While there, someone smashed into our van and completely took out our rear door. Glass was everywhere. After recovering from our shock of being 1200 miles away from home, we went out, found someone to fix it, rented another SUV and continued on our trip on out to New York City, Rhode Island and Mass. We returned on our way home to pick up our fixed vehicle and continued home. Crying and feeling that we were doomed would have done nothing. What could have been a horror story turned into a great family tale. Plus we have great pictures of our “new vehicle”.
The first time we went skiing, we took the train and got stranded on the side of a mountain for 12 hours. While many people complained ( and you would not believe how upset some people got - the police had to meet one gentleman at our destination), we laughed and added it to our family history. On our last vacation, we went to World’s of Fun on a cloudy day, had a great time because there were NO lines and ended up leaving the park in a downpour (Do you have any idea how much water collects when you get 3 inches of rain and are surrounded by asphalt?) We ended up all taking off our shoes and splashing through puddles laughing about it all. My five year old had the time of her life! It did take 3 days to dry out our clothes (after we found a laundromat) but it is a memory we will never forget.
I believe that is the inperfect made perfect that we remember, not the perfect. I can’t wait for our next family vacation to see what adventure happens next.