Breathe!

I’m lucky to have a wonderful home and family but even home can have heartache. We lost our faithful dog of 17 years, Stumpy, last week so we are adjusting to home without her. After taking a couple of days to mourn, we are back to going out and about. It doesn’t matter your reason for feeling sad but the important thing is to find a reason to be happy. My friends know that I have been a regular gym rat for the past 20 years and one of the first things I did was to get back to my swim classes. When I caught myself smiling, I realized that exercise makes me happy.

Today Bob and I went to a weight class together. Even though the class was physically challenging, again I found myself smiling. Even better, three different people came up to us after class to let us know that they knew we were new to the class and encouraged us to come again. It reminded me that even though you go for the workout, you walk away with the potential to make new friends and acquaintances. That also makes me happy.

Yesterday, our wonderful neighbors came over with their two daughters and dropped off handmade gifts and remembrances of Stumpy. We have also been overwhelmed with kindness from friends and family. Another reason for smiles. Life is good. I could go on with reasons for smiles, but I go back to the word of encouragement received during our weight class this morning; breathe! If you take the time to do that and remember your reasons for happiness, pretty soon that is exactly how you will feel.