I am happy

Did I tell you my motto for 2018? "I'm just happy to be here!"

Where did I leave off? We got the house! The one with the big yard, apple trees, and corner bath tub.
That's not what makes me happy.
I got 2 raises at work in the first 2 weeks. That's not what makes me happy.
I have been blown away by how awesome and challenging my new job is. That makes me happy.
What makes me happy is my affirmation that "I am insanely blessed!"
If I were to write a very small book on the keys to my happiness it would a few short chapters based on what I have been highlighting in the last 2 weeks.
I learned that helping others is happiness.
Having energy is happiness
Problem solving is happiness.
Connecting is happiness.
Self-love is happiness.
The good Gospel of love through Jesus Christ is happiness.
I learned that sometimes the light is more greatly revealed in the darkness.
I thought a lot about how there is a gap between what I have already learned - and what I sometimes do anyway, as if I didn't know any better.
Happiness is not about having a comfortable life. I started the job at my current company and it's not easy, but it's worth it. I feel so alive while I am there doing what I can to make a difference in people's lives.
I'm still waiting for life to slow down so I can process things better.
It's all about perspective. I told my husband that it was like being newlyweds after an impossibly dreamy 2 year honeymoon.

For 4 days I woke up, went shopping, went to training at work, and went shopping (after 9pm). I didn't even have enough time to put everything away every day. The very first night in our new rental house we didn't have a bed yet. Hadn't even dug through storage yet to find sleeping bags. Day 2 we had a bed and kitchen table in a box. We set up the bed right away, the table stayed in the box for a few more days. Then the big score was finding 3 matching chairs for $75.

I had not considered what it takes to outfit just one bathroom.

It's 2 weeks later and we have an empty living room and only a bed in our bedroom. We still have things in  our small storage we need to get to, though no furniture is in there. It's some clothes and some pictures and some... stuff. I'm not entirely sure what all is in there, it will be like Christmas to find out. It will feel better around here when we have things on the walls to personalize this place.

And if I wrote this tiny manual on the how and why and when and where and what of my happiness, it would have to include a chapter on how I want it all. I have this belief that all things are possible.

I can love God and love science too. I can believe in Jesus and believe in magic. I can believe in the power of the universe in direct relation to the power of my God. 

Oh, and I had a birthday. I didn't plan anything, but it worked out very well. Work has been a gigantic whirlwind of information, demands, change-ups, and job sites. It has been a wild ride. I told a student that it was my birthday and he jumped up and shouted: hey everyone, it's Suzette's birthday! We were in a big cavernous room and 20 people burst out in an enthusiastic rendition of the birthday song. It was fantastically louder in that huge room. It was the most fun song I've heard in my entire life. Then I went home to family putting up decorations and had to walk under a birthday banner. I was handed a pink tiara, and I found a heart shaped Twinkie cake on the counter.

Life is good. But don't be fooled. I firmly believe that I create my own luck. I'm not saying it's hard, I'm just saying it takes real effort. Real perspective. Real love. And real love requires real forgiveness.

This post is a fraction of all the things that I went through in 2 weeks. 

I focus on the good parts.

I want love to win.


                I had forgotten about the beautiful sunsets that can be seen in Cedar City, Utah.