How Are You Always Happy?
I'm known for being happy almost all the time. On the School run, I give everyone a cheery hello, a smile or a grin depending on the age of the recipient, giggle with them over a shared joke and I am generally the smiley person everyone always assumes "larger" people to be. I guess it is because of this that sometimes people almost accusingly ask me;
"How are you always happy?
And I have to think about it.
I didn't always have a grin on my face, it was something I "trained" myself to do because I have resting bitch face (before it was a thing!) and because I don't think of myself as happy all the time.
I'm just me.
Normal Pippa.
Okay, crazy Pippa.
If you need further proof of this, you should see me at 3 am when my phone alarm has gone off to wake me up to do a blood test for Dan Jon Jr.
I am not happy then!
However, the only people that tend to see me at 2 am in the morning are Flyfour and my children. Although Vic and Jen have both seen me at 2 am, but I kept falling asleep on Jen and totally didn't realise it and I'm pretty sure Vic was as tired as I was, so that doesn't count right?
Anyway.
I am a positive person. I tend to always have a smile on my face, I look on the bright side of life and I like to bring a smile to others, because, well it's a nice thing to do right?
Some people might say it's because I have religion.
I know that being a Mormon is a huge thing in my life and it brings me great joy because I know why I am here, I know what I am doing and I know where I am going in life. I have friends of all different ages, walks of life and from different countries too.
And I love it.
I love knowing that I have a Father in Heaven, that I have a big brother, that I am not alone and have a constant companion in the form of the Holy Ghost.
I love knowing that if I needed to I could call one of at least twenty different people and they would come and help me, that they text me and send me Facebook messages to bring a smile to my face. That they know when I'm feeling low and will bring food round, small gifts, notes and even Dr Pepper (note to my Visiting Teachers: Please don't bring me, Dr Pepper I'm trying to give it up!)
I mean even as I'm writing this (I happen to be sitting in the foyer at Church listening to Top Ender rehearse a song she is singing with the other youth at an upcoming Fireside) I'm also chatting with a woman whom I've never met before but we're getting on famously because we already know we have a lot in common.
But I don't think that's it.
Some people might say it's because I'm married to my best friend.
I know, I know. It sounds sickening when I say that right? It's like some love story that you'd read in a magazine that specialises in romantic fiction.
It's the truth though, I am lucky enough to be married to my best friend and I love not only spending time with him, but he likes spending time with me too! I know I tease him about his faults, but really he only has two. He's too nice and He works too hard.
I was lucky when I met my husband, I knew that he was the one for me straight away and I could imagine our future together and what we have built together is pretty near what I imagined. Of course, it has changed a little to what we imagined together and it's pretty near perfect.
We encourage each other every day to be our best, to try new things, to reach our full potential. It's not easy, don't get me wrong. I'm a terrible person and I'm sure that at times my husband could quite easily throttle me but this year we'll have been married for 16 years and neither of us are dead!
But I don't think that's it.
Some people might say it's because I have perfect children.
It makes me laugh at how often this gets thrown at me, by friends, strangers on the internet and even people at Church.
Let me make this clear once and for all, my children aren't perfect.
They fight and whine and moan and complain and get stroppy and don't tidy up after themselves. I can go into their bedrooms and pick up dirty washing and piles of cups and plates despite them protesting that everything in their rooms was clean and put away... you know normal children stuff.
My children however are brilliant.
They make me laugh so hard that my cheeks hurt. They make me cards and gifts (Tops made me a brilliant mobile phone holder just before Christmas) and they hug me and smile and they pose for photographs for the blog or for my silly project ideas. They participate in my crazy ideas, they help me out when I ask everyone to tidy up for five minutes, they don't mind (too much) when I tell them to stop playing on the consoles and to come and read with me.
And we love each other, with all our hearts.
But I don't think that's it.
Some people might say it's because I like to make others happy.
I like helping people out, making people laugh and making people know that they have value because sometimes people forget that and they shouldn't! I'm quite often on Facebook leaving little messages on walls and sending text messages and leaving little notes in letterboxes.
I think that when you make others happy, you become a little addicted to the feeling and so you try to make more people happy and in the end, it is a vicious circle of wanting others to feel good because it makes you feel good. Plus their happiness rubs off on you and even on a cold grey day, that makes you warm and feel good inside.
But I don't think that's it.
I don't think though it is any one of these things.
I think that really it is a combination of all of them, and that they make me the woman I am today.
Which as we know is always happy and a little bit crazy.
"How are you always happy?
And I have to think about it.
I didn't always have a grin on my face, it was something I "trained" myself to do because I have resting bitch face (before it was a thing!) and because I don't think of myself as happy all the time.
I'm just me.
Normal Pippa.
Okay, crazy Pippa.
If you need further proof of this, you should see me at 3 am when my phone alarm has gone off to wake me up to do a blood test for Dan Jon Jr.
I am not happy then!
However, the only people that tend to see me at 2 am in the morning are Flyfour and my children. Although Vic and Jen have both seen me at 2 am, but I kept falling asleep on Jen and totally didn't realise it and I'm pretty sure Vic was as tired as I was, so that doesn't count right?
Anyway.
I am a positive person. I tend to always have a smile on my face, I look on the bright side of life and I like to bring a smile to others, because, well it's a nice thing to do right?
Some people might say it's because I have religion.
I know that being a Mormon is a huge thing in my life and it brings me great joy because I know why I am here, I know what I am doing and I know where I am going in life. I have friends of all different ages, walks of life and from different countries too.
And I love it.
I love knowing that I have a Father in Heaven, that I have a big brother, that I am not alone and have a constant companion in the form of the Holy Ghost.
I love knowing that if I needed to I could call one of at least twenty different people and they would come and help me, that they text me and send me Facebook messages to bring a smile to my face. That they know when I'm feeling low and will bring food round, small gifts, notes and even Dr Pepper (note to my Visiting Teachers: Please don't bring me, Dr Pepper I'm trying to give it up!)
I mean even as I'm writing this (I happen to be sitting in the foyer at Church listening to Top Ender rehearse a song she is singing with the other youth at an upcoming Fireside) I'm also chatting with a woman whom I've never met before but we're getting on famously because we already know we have a lot in common.
But I don't think that's it.
Some people might say it's because I'm married to my best friend.
I know, I know. It sounds sickening when I say that right? It's like some love story that you'd read in a magazine that specialises in romantic fiction.
It's the truth though, I am lucky enough to be married to my best friend and I love not only spending time with him, but he likes spending time with me too! I know I tease him about his faults, but really he only has two. He's too nice and He works too hard.
I was lucky when I met my husband, I knew that he was the one for me straight away and I could imagine our future together and what we have built together is pretty near what I imagined. Of course, it has changed a little to what we imagined together and it's pretty near perfect.
We encourage each other every day to be our best, to try new things, to reach our full potential. It's not easy, don't get me wrong. I'm a terrible person and I'm sure that at times my husband could quite easily throttle me but this year we'll have been married for 16 years and neither of us are dead!
But I don't think that's it.
Some people might say it's because I have perfect children.
It makes me laugh at how often this gets thrown at me, by friends, strangers on the internet and even people at Church.
Let me make this clear once and for all, my children aren't perfect.
They fight and whine and moan and complain and get stroppy and don't tidy up after themselves. I can go into their bedrooms and pick up dirty washing and piles of cups and plates despite them protesting that everything in their rooms was clean and put away... you know normal children stuff.
My children however are brilliant.
They make me laugh so hard that my cheeks hurt. They make me cards and gifts (Tops made me a brilliant mobile phone holder just before Christmas) and they hug me and smile and they pose for photographs for the blog or for my silly project ideas. They participate in my crazy ideas, they help me out when I ask everyone to tidy up for five minutes, they don't mind (too much) when I tell them to stop playing on the consoles and to come and read with me.
And we love each other, with all our hearts.
But I don't think that's it.
Some people might say it's because I like to make others happy.
I like helping people out, making people laugh and making people know that they have value because sometimes people forget that and they shouldn't! I'm quite often on Facebook leaving little messages on walls and sending text messages and leaving little notes in letterboxes.
I think that when you make others happy, you become a little addicted to the feeling and so you try to make more people happy and in the end, it is a vicious circle of wanting others to feel good because it makes you feel good. Plus their happiness rubs off on you and even on a cold grey day, that makes you warm and feel good inside.
But I don't think that's it.
I don't think though it is any one of these things.
I think that really it is a combination of all of them, and that they make me the woman I am today.
Which as we know is always happy and a little bit crazy.