I still come here at least once a day. Wishing that I had something to contribute that may help someone the way I was helped in my time of need. I've had a lot to say about Happiness on this site and elsewhere, but that was a long time ago. .........So now I think It's time for me to contribute my two cents worth again. This is something I wrote during my sad dementia trip with my dear Helen. ____________________________________________________________________
From my old school days......1st grade and on up. I remember Sammy Randazzo. Everybody liked Sammy. He was a little guy.... not very bright but he was always so happy and playful and full of mischief, giving the teacher a fit, but bringing a lot of fun into the classroom.
The teachers would usually send him to the cloak room for his misbehavior. (The cloak room was where we all kept our lunches, sweaters, ect.) One time while confined to the cloak room. Sammy went through all the lunches and ate up all the goodies. After that, when he was naughty, he would have to stand in the corner and face the wall. The girls would love to tease him on the playground, but everything was fun for Sammy Randazzo.
Now why am I thinking about Sammy Randazzo at this time of my life. I've met others similar to him, but he was the perfect example of someone who never let anything stand in the way of his happiness.
While going through the sad experience of being a caregiver for my Helen as she went through the stages of vascular dementia, I thought that for me, happiness would be impossible........But maybe not.......What would this be like for Sammy Randazzo? I can't imagine Sammy ever being unhappy.
Well.......I read a little story about attitude and It finally came to me.......It's all about ATITUDE......I found caregivers here, who had it much worse than me. And I thought about all the poor people in far away countries who were suffering and dying for lack of things that I was just taking for granted. And I realized that I still had a lot to be thankful for. So I counted up all the good things I had and quit dwelling on the bad. I changed my attitude. I found what I was searching for..... .............................HAPPINESS
That's how I turned Easter around from feeling whiny and unhappy to actually having a partially good day and ending up feeling good about it. I kind of gave myself a mental shake, and said to myself, "Oh, come on. The sun is shining, the flowers are pretty, the church music is inspiring, the food is good, the kids and the puppy are cute, DD gave you a nice gift of gourmet coffee. Perk up, girl!" I was still thinking of Larry all day, but with a smile more than with a tear. Wise words, George.
One thing I have done for years now since the onset of dementia with my husband - every morning before I get out of bed I list in my head 10 things I am grateful for.
It could be so easy to feel sorry for ourselves and our spouse and fall into a hole of depression. But, what would that accomplish... Yes , we need to mourn and our mourning starts very early.
At some point, we must pick ourselves up and go on . Gratitude is what helps me. Also, I can hear my hubby, Insisting I start living again.
We all deserve to find happiness again. Thanks for the reminder.