I share constantly about seeing joy around me and usually the pictures I share are moments when my kids are being adorable and things look great. Don’t think that my life is so super awesome all the time. Every week I wonder if I’ll actually have anything to share because the kids are crazy, I’m crazy, and the house is crazy. Seriously. This house is insane. Just ask our parents when they try to Skype with us.
Yesterday I was trying to put away the clean dishes after dinner so that I could get the dirty dishes loaded before bedtime. Remember those monthly goals that I have? Yeah, gotta keep the dishes rotating. But anyway, I’m unloading the dishwasher, one handed for some reason (mom-ing) and as I was trying to slide some large plates into the bottom of the pile when the smaller plates on top started sliding out.
I felt myself panicking because one hand had other items in it (probably other dishes) and the other hand had the large plates in it. I tried using my elbows and upper arms to catch the falling plates (why I thought that would work is beyond me) but all four small plates fell down. Two landed on the counter, one fell gracefully to the floor (like how I fall) and the other crashed and shattered into thousands of pieces.
The two big boys were in the kitchen making snack bags for their classes so I immediately yelled for them to leave. Don’t worry, it wasn’t an angry yell, it was a “mom is scared for your poor little feet so leave immediately before they turn to bloody appendages” yell. You know that one, right?
I wanted to grumble and guilt myself about trying to do too many things at once but instead I grabbed the broom and started sweeping everything into a pile. Then I pulled out my phone to snap a picture. I wanted to post on Instagram and Twitter with something like “How’s your Monday going?” Snap picture, set phone down, keep sweeping.
As I was sweeping I realized this was a chore I had been putting off for several days. I HATE sweeping. In fact, on Saturday I was talking to friends about how sweeping is one of “the most likely to be ignored chores” at my house. But now, because of a broken plate, something I could have easily let put me in a bummed mood, I was getting a chore done. And now my floor looked great! Plus I got a great blog idea 😉
So long story short, I found joy in a broken plate. A moment that could have put me in a bad mood instead ended up boosting my mood! Crazy how choosing to seek joy can help at all moments of life.
Oh, and an extra “real life moment” to add to this? My phone didn’t actually take the picture and I didn’t notice until after I was done sweeping! So no picture of my glass shards and super dirty floor, sorry!
Have you had a “real life” moment when you’ve chosen to see it as joyful instead of frustrating? Tell me about it in the comments!
