Happiness is family

Lately I've been taking stock in myself and I've come to the realization that I am happy! It might shock you to know that I was quite surprised with this conclusion. After having Olivia, my greatest concern and fear was an extreme case of the baby blues (most of you know of my past troubles with depression, though it's not something I often comment on). It turns out, however, that I gave birth to six pounds of Prozac and only recently have I found myself down and out...hence my self-evaluation. So how does this help me realize I'm happy? Because during my research, I found that I bounced back from my "episodes" quickly and easily and felt no despair.

Let me illustrate. Several weeks ago, I was at church for Activity Days (in Tuscaloosa, not Greensboro) when Bro. Murray said, "Cheyenne, you seem in good spirits today."

I looked at him sideways and said, "Hmm...how can you tell?"

He chuckled and said, "You're humming, or didn't you know that?"

No, I didn't know that. In fact, that day had been a little rough for me, but I was still humming. Amazing!

And then the clincher. This morning Aubrey was out at 6 a.m. working in the yard, so when I got up I made cheezy hash browns, french toast and bacon knowing he'd be famished when he came in. So there we were, eating a rare breakfast together: Aubrey tearing into the hash browns, me cutting my french toast into perfect squares and Olivia ripping apart a pancake (giving most of it to Peanut).

All of a sudden, Olivia clenches her shredded pancake, gives out a scream and stares across the table. With clenched fists and a scrunched-up nose, she very cautiously leans over to her right, and then her left (with Peanut running circles beneath her). I watch her do this a couple of times and then look over to see what has captured her intrest and intense concentration. What do you suppose it was? Aubrey was playing hide-and-go-seek behind the juice carton. When Olivia finally found him, she shrieked with laughter. The game continued all through breakfast.

That's when I realized...again...how really blessed I am to have such a wonderful, happy family. It was the absolute best way to start my morning, seeing Olivia laughing and covered in pancake and cereal playing with her dad. It also reminded me why I married Aubrey in the first place. I knew he was made for mornings like this.

What a wonderful husband and father he is! He still knows how to push my buttons and teases me constantly (he's quite the joker), Olivia thinks watching the cat sleep is hilarious and I'm not completely devoid of humor. Even on my worst days, laughter, like what I saw this morning, is no stranger to our home. Isn't it funny how a game of hide-and-go-seek with a carton of juice can surface all of these thoughts and feelings?

My grandma always says that a glass of juice is the best thing for you in the morning. I had no idea she was this right.