Choosing Joy

I'll admit to being rather sulky lately. It came on somewhere in the middle of a tsunami of stresses: Last minute middle school searches; Too many insane deadlines at work; A high school student not living up to their potential; Waiting for an acceptance letter; A trip taking one kid out of the country; Taxes; A brutal post on another blog; Continual questions about inclusion vs. special ed schools for a significantly autistic kid. I was so focused on staying afloat I didn't realize how grumpy I was becoming.

Over the weekend the usual family activities didn't bring me the normal enjoyment. On Sunday's walk in the park I found myself rushing msk instead of giving him the freedom that has made park time so wonderful for him. I worried about him climbing a tree. I didn't feel like scrambling up and down steep hills. I talked in a fairly unpleasant tone. Generally, I sulked.

Today at work I was just as grumpy. I had a bit of a meltdown over an email. Generally I acted like a jerk.

This is unacceptable and having now recognized my bad behavior I choose to stop it.

So in an attempt to turn it around I'll follow that Ian Dury & The Blockhead tune and list reasons to be cheerful:

• I got a phone call from my traveling kid and she seemed very happy
• Next year I'll have 2 kids at the same school
• Looks like the middle school selection process is over via a lottery win
• It should be beautiful by the end of the week & I think I've earned some time off
• A challenging job is way better than a boring job
• The DSL that was out due to rain is back up now