Choosing Happiness and Joy

So what's new with you?
Nothing much happening here except -
It's busier than Christmas time!
I'm guessing everyone is trying to fit in one last vacation before school starts.
So it's been pretty crazy.
And Very HOT.
In fact, in the last 3 weeks I have eaten a whole cherry cheesecake (save for one piece, it was a birthday gift) and several pizzas, a few hot fudge sundaes and/or ice cream bars and poptarts for breakfast and I've lost 13 lbs!
So yeah, I've been working hard.
Anyway...
Then this happened -

Last Friday, someone at work was talking about being upset that their dishwasher had broken down

(I'm the dishwasher at my house)

so I made the statement that I would feel upset if my washing machine ever broke down as I use it every single day.
I wash dog bedding and potty pads.
I said if I didn't use it daily, I'd probably save a lot of $$$ but what else could I do?
So I went home that night and the washer wouldn't work.
Saturday morning

(I won't bore you with all the horrible details)

but after a nightmare of a morning, the washer ended up dead.
Broken forever.
Beyond repair.
It had a good run.
Years and years of daily washing.
So there was that.

After I calmed down and cleaned up, I ran downtown to the place I have my Art prints for sale.

I had done a "July Special" and I hoped I had made some good sales.

The woman who owned the place said several people liked them

and commented how they might want their own pets done but....
Nothing sold.
Zero.
Nada.

Sunday morning I met my sister for our monthly breakfast.
As I left my house I looked around and realized I would need to cut the grass.
So after breakfast I came home and cut it.
I have a small front yard and I mostly just weed whack the back yard.
I was thinking how I could almost weed whack the front, since it's so small but then decided it wouldn't look nice.
Along the flowerbeds, next to the driveway, the grass had grown high and I decided to just run the mower along the edge of the rock border.
I didn't see the rock in the weeds but the mower hit it hard and it stopped.
I flipped the mower over, the blade was bent at a very sharp angle and was gouged up into the plastic in the top of the mower. It was embedded deep....

Monday I got my pay stub.
I had overtime on it.
I ordered a push mower off of Amazon.

(source)

I also ordered disposable Doggy potty pads.
I can easily hand wash my clothes.
If I have something big, like a comforter, I can take it to work and wash it until I figure out what I want to do.

(source)

While I was at it, I ordered 200 ft of cotton clothesline.
Then I went and dug up my old clothesline post and moved over to a more convenient spot.
I figured that I might as well start line-drying too, while the weather is good for it.

And about my Art,
I decided to go back to making illustrations.
Maybe some with quotes, something more general.
I talked to the woman at the place about how I plan on doing Halloween illustrations too

and seasonal stuff

she was excited.
She said Halloween is BIG!
but it only sells from now and until through September.
So I'll be doing that.

OK, now we are to Monday.
I fell.
I was wearing different shoes because my other ones had created a huge blister on the back of my foot and then I accidentally ripped that skin off.
Since it hurt like Hell to put on any regular shoe, I was wearing my old Crocs.
I was on the wet floor in the kennel area and just sort of wiped out and landed on my knee.
Luckily I came down straight on it and didn't twist it.

Tuesday, a dog pooped as he came in the door of boarding and the owner walked in it and smooshed it everywhere. After he had left I dragged the hose out and was cleaning it off and as I walked back in, there must have been water on the floor because I wiped out AGAIN and came down on the same knee and then fell backwards. I could feel the muscles on the top of my thigh pull. I had the hose in my hand and it went off and sprayed the ceiling and then down on me and got me all wet.

I gathered the hose up and tossed it into the laundry room and then I gave the old lab that had pooped a bath.
That's why he was there, for me to give him his monthly bath.
I'm washing the big dogs now.
The groomer has decided she's too old to do them any longer, so I'm doing them.
Fun fact: I'm 5 years older than her.

After that was done, the old blind diabetic Schnauzer that was boarding had to go potty so I carried him across the room. The hose was still on the floor so I kicked it out of the way and it went off again.
I turned quickly to shield the old guy and it sprayed the entire back of me and got me soaking wet.
I took the old dog out to the grassy area and stood in the sun, wishing it would dry me as he wobbled around the yard.

Later on I sat down to look at the boarding schedule.
I'm back to working 6 days because I have to double up the workers for some shifts.
I was studying the schedule when someone called who just needed to board his dog overnight. Luckily it's for NEXT week when most of the dogs are going home.

So I set up the boarding appointment for his little dog.
We coordinated it so the little dog could be groomed too.
The owner was this very cheerful man who unfortunately had to get his home "bombed" for bedbugs. He was so pleasant and laughed about the situation and said he'd bring the dog over before picking up his disabled son from school. Then afterwards he said he'd run his elderly mom to the hotel that they are staying at.
He said that it "sounded like a plan!

He was so happy that it all was falling into place nicely. I hung up and thought WOW!
If I was in his situation I'd be all grumbly and bitchy.
In fact most people I know would be too.

There's definitely a lesson to be learned here.
We have the power to choose how we go through life. To focus on the good things rather than dwell on the bad.
I felt bad for him but at the same time felt in awe.
How amazing with so much on his plate, he was able to find joy.

And that made me think again about Jean's daughter and son-in-law and their tragic loss of Montana.
They too, are amazing people who were able to rise above it all and find Joy!

Life is full of crappy little details and we can let those things drag us down.
At least I know I do.
And yet people with BIG issues are able to find Happiness and Joy.

Once again, I'm gonna quit my belly-aching and
CHOOSE to be HAPPY!