When I was little I remember my parents making a big deal over having a good attitude. 

It was really annoying at the time, because the last thing I wanted to hear was a chirpy “It’s all about your attitude!” as I was dragged on yet another trip to the most boring place on earth: The Home Depot. 

“NO,” I wanted to yell at them. “It’s not MY ATTITUDE, it’s that this place SUCKS!”  

Now that I am a grown up with grown up problems like owing taxes to the Federal Government, I get it. Everyone has problems; what divides the happy people from the unhappy people is their attitude. That’s a valuable lesson that I need to thank my parents for the next time that I see them. 

It’s not like their lives have been a cake walk — they have been through a lot, most of which I was oblivious to as a child. There were times when they had, I think, absolutely nothing; and there were times when they were very successful. I didn’t notice it because their attitudes remained the same regardless, just as happy with nothing as they were with everything. Probably because “everything” to them did not mean money, it meant people, and since we were all present and accounted for … well, we have always had everything.

This week I am working on teaching the baby how to feed herself and it’s going poorly, as expected. Princesses apparently do not feed themselves bits of sandwich. Pepper is extending me a great deal of patience as I grapple with this fact. 

Two days ago I was placing bite-size pieces in her fist and she shot me looks of boredom as she dropped them on the floor before I finally gave up and started feeding them to her. One minute Asher and I were laughing as we watched her eat and it was all fine, and the next minute she was choking. Like panic-stricken, not breathing, choking.

I have had children choke before, but not choke like they actually could not breathe until I dislodged whatever was stuck. It seemed to take forever to remove her high chair tray and unbuckle her so I could throw her over my shoulder and beat the sandwich out of her windpipe. All I can say about it was I hope it never happens again.

As life continues to roll past and over me and ridiculous things continue to happen, all I can think is that we are blessed. And I know that attitude really is the key to my happiness, because if I didn’t have the ability to see the good around me like my parents FORCED ME TO DO as a kid, I would not be coping well as an adult. I hope I can pass this important lesson on to my own kids. 

I fear I may fail at this because I spend so much of my time yelling at them for various offenses. It continues to blow my mind how a two-year-old can be so incredibly picky about what he will eat at the dinner table, yet random raisins, bits of popcorn, candy, or french fries found outside in the dirt are just fine. I’ve lost count of how many times I have gasped and screamed “DON’T EAT THAT!!!”

Life is hard, man. But we are all accounted for in this house, so we have absolutely everything.

A stranger took this photo.