A Departure From the Norm

Normally my blog posts, infrequent as they are, are inspired by funny things that I have experienced during my time in the south.  Just a heads up, tonight I am taking a slight departure from that trend so bare with me.

My job requires me to be online, A LOT, and unfortunately this means I unwillingly see my fair share of trash, sadness and just plain shitty ass stories about people who do terrible things. How the people who deal with these situations on a daily basis stay positive I will never know. You all have my utmost respect! For me, days filled with seeing all of it can really have a negative effect on my generally sunshine filled outlook on life. It weighs on my mind, it fills up precious brain space I would like open for more positive happy messages and frankly it saps my energy.

Often I take refuge in fluffy books, British baking shows and the Pentatonix Christmas album on repeat. The last few weeks though, I have been reminded once again even those can't compare to spending time with loved ones.

When I look around and try to define the term "loved ones" it means a lot of people. Yes I know "a lot" isn't a very descriptive word, but tonight that is all I have. So let's look briefly at these peeps.

I have an amazing family who I don't see near often enough just due to the shear distance and countries that separate us. It never ceases to amaze me though how a smile crosses my face when I hear from one of them in a day just to say hi.

Then there those who aren't actually family but have become family. They are near and far away but they all have welcomed the Hubby and I as family. We celebrate everything and I love that. We hug and cry and laugh and love life every time we can.

The last few years something special has happened in life. Ed and I have been surrounded by amazing and beautiful children. We have made the choice not to have our own, but my heart overflows every moment we spend with the ones in our life. From short visits to the NICU, to Skype calls to Oregon, cooking baking dates with my favorite elf, movie dates with a not so little guy anymore, texts from mini me and her brother, or the one who loves her Sophia, there is seriously no better way to find a smile than to see the world through the eyes of a little one.

So why do I say all of this? I say it because sometimes we all just need a reminder to shut out all the shit around us and take a minute to enjoy those who we call our loved ones.