Happy (for a limited time only?)

This morning I was standing in the kitchen, home alone.  My trusty Russell Hobbs was boiling, and I stood watching the steam rise, waiting to pour hot water over the coffee I'd just scooped into my little Melitta filter.  I felt very, very content.  It had been a productive morning so far--I'd decided on tonight's dinner (hot and sour soup and pork buns), I'd stripped the beds, the first load of laundry was in, I had bagel dough rising, and now I was ready for another cup of coffee. Then a thought crept into my mind--I just may have to get a job.  You know, the kind outside the home?  That pays money?  It's an issue that has been swirling around lately, carrying with it crabbiness and arguments and unfolded laundry and takeout food. The thought of going back to an office every day and filing and answering phones for eight hours almost makes me feel ill.

Okay, well,  that's enough whining.  My point is that it is so important to notice your happiness!  Pay attention to what you are doing and notice your contentment!  It is so easy to let the days get away from you, focusing only on what's hard, what's a nuisance.  Noticing your satisfaction is like visting an oasis if you're having a crappy day, and it's a nice bonus if you're not having a crappy day.

Knowing that my time at home may be coming to an end (hopefully not totally--a part-time job would suit me just fine), I'm trying to be even more aware of how much I love staying home.  I approach housewifery with the same work ethic I approached any paid position I've had.  I start early, stay late, and keep to a schedule.  I look around to see what else needs to be done.  I give it my all.

So when I'm in some office filing and answering phones, I won't feel like I didn't appreciate my life.  To the contrary--I know very well that being a housewife is the best job I've ever had.  And, well, okay, perhaps I've not been looking very hard for a job--I'm kind of hoping that something to do with books or food or writing, for, oh, four hours a day, that pays an enormous amount of money, will--poof!--appear before me.

Hope springs eternal.  Now I have to go put the laundry in the dryer.