My Face Hurts and it Feels Great

Know what I do when I feel the need for an energy realignment? I think about my kids. I think about silly things they've done and I walk around my home looking at pictures of them from when they were young up until now. It never fails to make me smile and often laugh out loud. I can't help it, they just bring me so much joy.

In order to change my mood from negative to positive I need to change my thought process and, although I can do it just sitting on the sofa and thinking of something funny, it works much better for me if I have a visual to go along with it. That's why, occasionally, I'll put stand-up comedy on the TV to help me but most often it's my kids that do the trick.

Looking at their smiles and pure joy from when they were toddlers makes me think of what happened on the day the photo was taken, and that will make me think of something more recent that put them and/or me in a good mood. Before I know it I'm standing in my hallway or sitting on my sofa laughing so hard anyone on the outside would think I'm insane. I'm laughing right now. They have so many moments that make me smile and laugh that I don't know which one of the kids makes me laugh the most.

Ty, 10, has a real quirky sense of humor. He's an old soul so his jokes are often well thought out before they even leave his lips. I guess he needs to make sure he's funny before he says anything to try to make someone laugh but that's adorable in itself. And his reaction to someone's laughter at his jokes is priceless; it's almost like he hit the jackpot by getting his funny point across just the way he wanted to. He's the one who, when asked what he wanted to do when we got home from the park, said, "Why don't we glue some relish pieces together and make a pickle."

Zach, 9, is my straight man. He'll tell a joke without cracking a smile while doing something else at the same time. He's the one about whom the school will be calling me in another couple of years. "Mrs. Domanski, we need you to come to school for a conference. Zachary isn't able to stop joking in class and everyone is always laughing." I'll just have to tell them to relax, enjoy the moment, and laugh with him. He just comes up with the most out-of-the-blue comments when they're least expected; those "you had to be there to get the humor" moments. He's the one who, when asked not to clean the neck of a sauce bottle by licking it but to use his finger instead, will say while taking a bite of his food, "You mean the finger I pick my nose with?"

Dolly, 6, is my free spirit. She does what comes to mind without any thought that anyone might be watching, and without any regard to what anyone else might think of her. A show will come on TV and she'll stand up and start dancing to it however she feels fit to dance. She'll be watching Netflix on her 3DS and have it sitting in her lap as she sits on a skateboard and pushes herself back and forth across the floor while reciting the lines from whatever show she's watching. She'll wear a rainbow-striped sweater, rainbow-dotted pants, flowered socks, and pink sneakers "because all the colors look pretty together" as she smiles her biggest smile.

Can you understand the joy these kids bring to me on a daily basis? It's no wonder I can just flip from a negative mood to a positive mood in an instant. I haven't stopped smiling the entire time I've been writing this - because I can't. I could try to think of something negative right now and it wouldn't matter a bit to me, not at all. I just wish other people could find joy in their lives like I have in mine.

I don't have a lot of money, I don't live in a mansion, and I don't have a fancy car or any other expensive "toys". I do have my kids and, although they're not perfect, they're mine, I love them with every ounce of my being, and they make me smile until my face hurts. And you know what? That makes me extremely wealthy. :)

Until next time...peace to all.