“And they
lived happily ever after.” Think about this line for a few minutes. Are you
living happily ever after? If not, what will it take for you to get there?
Yes, I believe I am. It wasn’t a pain-free or straightforward
journey to get to “happily ever after,” but very few of us are able to make it there
without some work and suffering along the way. But, before I go any further with this topic,
let me clarify what “happily ever after” means to me.
When I googled, “What does happily ever after mean?” I found
primarily the “fairy tale Cinderella” meaning of falling in love and living a
perfect life with that love forever more.
So, yes, in that regard, I’ve succeeded in having been found by the love
of my life (the second time around), and although our life and love is not
perfect (because no human being can claim perfection if they are being totally
honest with themselves and others), it is as good and strong as I believe any
marriage can be, and it continues to get stronger and better over the years,
BUT this is because we are both willing to WORK at loving each other,
communicate about issues, and ensure we continue to let each other know how
much we appreciate each other on a regular basis.
Now, for the rest of the story, I don’t think of “happily ever
after” as referring only to love and marriage because love and marriage in
itself is not the whole purpose of our lives, in my opinion. Part of the happily ever after thing for me
is what I spend 40+ hours a week every week doing, which is my job or career,
if you will. Then, there’s also what I
do with my family and friends in our off time, which is writing, reading, yoga,
hiking, etc…Finally, there’s raising a family and service to others that’s a
part of many of our lives in one way or another. In order to say I live in “happily ever
after,” I think I need to have some measure of contentment in each of these
areas.
Sure, I would love to NOT have to clock in and out at a job each
day and stay there for 8 hours. I would love to make a living writing and be
around more to take care of my home and family, but when I consider that for
real, I realize that I would miss my career outside the home because it is one
big part of my life that gives me purpose and fulfills me. I learn and grow as a person at work through
my experiences, and I’ve made so many wonderful connections at each place I’ve
been. In fact, I just chatted online
with my former co-workers last night, which brought back sweet memories, and I
come home many days from work now telling my husband stories about something
funny a co-worker said or did, and we laugh about it. I can’t imagine my life without these day-in
and day-out work friends nor can I imagine my life without coming home to my
family and dog each night, even though most nights I’ve half-asleep when I write
these blog entries because as soon as I come home, my responsibilities there
take up the remainder of the day, and then I’m right back to preparing to get
up and do it all over again.
When I really, really sit down to think about it all (meaning my
life and its happily ever after), I can sincerely say that I wouldn’t have it
any other way! I enjoy my weekdays at work and my weekends with family doing
all the activities I love. I find meaning in what I do and will continue to
look for opportunities to serve others as we learn more about our new hometown.
So, I have my happily ever after, but part of the reason for that is due to
those tough times in the past when I learned to be content no matter what the
circumstances. Being content with your life requires daily acceptance and
positive thinking, and that’s something life has taught me that has brought me
to MY happily ever after!
What does happily ever after mean to you?
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