Week 26

When things get hard, or even unbearable, I think we naturally get selfish. We only concentrate on the negatives going on in our lives. We only think of how difficult, and impossible and even sad things are. We do this and let all of the happiness in our lives pass by. When things are hard, its the happiness that we need to cling to. It's the happiness that will drive us out of the darkness. It's the happiness that gives us the strength to keep moving, to try harder and be the people we know we are destined to be. It's the happiness that makes the impossible.....possible.

For this week, I have chosen a series of photos, instead of just one. I don't think I could illustrate this point without them all.

Sarah came to me, the other night, and asked if we could have a girls night. She wanted to go to Olive Garden, and get some soup, and then maybe go shopping. My daughter is me. This girl could eat soup and pasta every day, all day, no matter the season. She can make any moment a silly moment. She can take any object and make it a joke. I love her. However, this night, I really didn't want to go. I was sad, and not feeling like I'd be able to have fun, and give her the experience she was wanting. Not wanting to disappoint her, I agreed to go. I didn't realize that this was exactly what I needed.

When we sat down, Sarah asked why I had my camera. I told her that I always take it, just in case there is something special I need to take a photo of, then I have it with me. I got my iPad out, and my camera and I showed her how I take all of my self portraits. She was so excited by this! She felt like she was learning a secret that no one knew, and now she's in on it. It's kind of true, but not that amazing. HA! So we tried it out for her to see:

However, once I start, I have a hard time stopping. Fortunately for me, our food came, and Sarah was in a silly mood. So, this happened:

She was having so much fun just being goofy and making me laugh. The people around us kept staring at us, and trying not to chuckle. People always stare when I bring my giant camera out, and wonder what we're doing, but it got comical for them when I grabbed a bread stick and shoved the whole thing in my mouth while singing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star". That's when things got weird. HA!

Not to be outdone by her old lady, Sarah grabbed a bread stick and took one simple bite out of it. I was celebrating the fact that she couldn't do what I did, but then she surprised me. She turned around the bread stick, and created "Screaming Tom":

We had everyone laughing, rolling their eyes, and even joining in by the time the night was over. It was really fun to just be silly. I thought I had lost it for a minute.

They say laughter is the best medicine. I think it's true! I always think that I have lost my silly, but I haven't lost it at all. I just gave a lot of it to this girl. Sometimes, I think that it's just too hard to smile. It's just too hard to keep going, and trudging through. But, in reality, it's not hard at all. I just have to keep focusing on all of the good stuff. I have to remember that the good stuff out weigh the bad stuff. I have to remember to find joy in even the simplest things......including a bread stick and a strand of spaghetti.

Life is hard. It is. It's full of bumps, bruises, twists, turns, highs, and lows. Sometimes they come all at one time. But, without that hard stuff, and the good stuff, and everything in between, we wouldn't know good from evil, trial and triumph, happy and sad, love and loss. We wouldn't appreciate what my sweet daughter reminded me of that night. She reminded me that when things are at their worst, sometimes you just need to laugh, and be silly. Sometimes you just need a break from the hard stuff, even for just an hour. And I love her so much for the little bit of healing she has always given me.