project attitude swap!

My attitude stinks. Well it did stink. It's not as odorous as it has been recently... I mean I'm cheery enough to write a semi-humorous post about it so that's a good thing. Some of you might be thinking, "Ya right, Katelyn. I talked to you this morning and left feeling like I had been sat on by an elephant pregnant with quadruplets." I'm hoping this isn't true... because that poor momma elephant's hips must be aching like crazy! Wah wah wah. Really though, I hope I'm never a huge downer on anyone and if I ever have left you feeling sub-par I'm really sorry! I'm a huge fan of happiness so I'm sure I didn't mean it! Pretty much being happy is wonderful. I wish that not a single soul had to suffer from depression or losses or anything that has made them unhappy. I'm not that good at dealing with unhappiness and (as far as I know) I'm pretty chemically balanced so I can't even imagine what it's like to suffer from depression on a regular basis. I guess post-pregnancy is pretty rough but I was fortunate enough not to suffer from legitimate post-partum depression... just the usual sleep deprived/crazy hormones stuff. Still not fun. Anyway. The reason behind this recent attitude leech is something I think a lot of my Wisconsin friends can relate to. It's that moment when your spouse has a business trip that lasts a lot longer than you want it to already and you find out he is leaving 3 days earlier than you were expecting. Your attitude automatically drops and anything related to his job fills your brain with negative blah. This is not a nice thing. I do not like this. Especially since Todd works so hard to provide for our little family. Seriously, I admire him so much for how well he takes care of me and Mr. Peter. That is why last week after I found out he was leaving earlier than I had planned I needed a major game changer... and fast! I needed something clutch. After a short conversation with my neighbor I knew what needed to happen. The conversation went something like this... neighbor (who's husband works for the same company as Todd): "Yeah, my husband doesn't get back until Friday." Me: "Don't you hate that??" And so forth. What a horrible thing to say! Of course being away from your spouse for the week is no fun but going as far as hating the situation is just going to ruin your week! I definitely could have said something much more positive and encouraging. And that is why this morning I realized that my clutch player is going to be having a good attitude. It needs to be having a good attitude. Easier said than done.

Before I go on I should tell you that just because my attitude is pretty good right now doesn't mean that I don't have "meh" days. Hey, just yesterday morning after being dragged out of bed by the pleading cries of my child at 5:30am I was feeling pretty un-everything. Un-happy, un-energetic, un-positive (?), un-ethusiastic, un-willing to have a good attitude about the current situation. And how un-thankful of me to be that way considering it wasn't bad at all. Anywho... I'm feeling much better after an emotionally-rollercoastered weekend and I'm ready to talk about having a good attitude. Hopefully I'll at least inspire myself to be have a better attitude no matter what big or small things life throws my way.

I have been thinking about this for a while and I've come to a few conclusions. First off... being happy and having a good attitude are close to the same thing for me. So for the purposes of this post those two terms are more-or-less interchangeable. Secondly, I've noticed that personally having a good attitude and being patient go hand in hand. If I even want to have a good day I best be prayin' for extra patience that morning. And selflessness, that's important too... so hand in hand +  in hand. Obviously there are lots of other things that can help me and everyone else be happy and have good attitudes but right now these are the things that I have to be working at to keep that frown right upside down. Especially when I need all of the smiles and energy that I can muster while being on Peter-duty 24/7.

Patience... wherefore art thou?? Before I had a baby I thought I was one of the most patient and forgiving ladies alive. Then I had a baby. And now I'm the least patient creature in the universe! The smallest little things set me off... like if Peter's curiosity kicks in and he b-lines it for the garbage can. "Bah! Peter!! Stop trying to dump that! Seriously! Play where I can see you, child!" Or something along those lines. A good way to demonstrate what I am doing and what I should be doing comes from a general conference talk given by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf during the priesthood session. He says: 

We have all seen a toddler learn to walk. He takes a small step and totters. He falls. Do we scold such an attempt? Of course not. What father would punish a toddler for stumbling? We encourage, we applaud, and we praise because with every small step, the child is becoming more like his parents.
Now, brethren , compared to the perfection of God, we mortals are scarcely more than awkward, faltering toddlers. But our loving Heavenly Father wants us to become more like Him, and, dear brethren, that should be our eternal goal too. God understands that we get there not in an instant but by taking one step at a time.
I do not believe in a God who would set up rules and commandments only to wait for us to fail so He could punish us. I believe in a Heavenly Father who is loving and caring and who rejoices in our every effort to stand tall and walk toward Him. Even when we stumble, He urges us not to be discouraged—never to give up or flee our allotted field of service—but to take courage, find our faith, and keep trying.
Our Father in Heaven mentors His children and often sends unseen heavenly help to those who desire to follow the Savior.

Isn't that so wonderful? God loves us, more than we can understand, and He is patient with us even though we are constantly toddling around and making mistakes. I'm so glad President Utchdorf used this analogy during conference. I have been struggling a lot with patience, obviously, and I needed to be reminded that in a way I am just like Peter and his unending desire to cause mischief. When I'm patient with this desire of his my attitude always improves. I've noticed that it works the other way around as well. When I have a good attitude I have much more patience because I don't get beefed so quickly. It's a great little cycle, really.

Selflessness... another attribute that helps me have a good attitude. Right now, I will admit, I am not being the most selfless mother. Peter is behind the couch playing and I'm here on my laptop tip-tap-typing away. (side note, I wrote that part this morning... Peter isn't actually playing behind the couch at 10pm.) At least he's happy... and I'm promoting independent play right?? Haha enough excuses. Being selfless is hugely important. Most days there are a lot of things that I want to do... exercising, blogging, reading, cooking dinner for my hard-workin'-hubster (oh my heck I love that word, I'm putting a patent on it right now), eating food to stay alive, using the toilet so I don't wet myself... that kind of stuff. But ya know, many of those things are much less important than Peter-time. If I would just stop thinking of myself and let him wrestle me to his hearts content we would both be a lot happier. For reals... as soon as I place my needs on the back burner and do things for my family I feel so much better. And things get taken care of. And I find time to do all of those other "important" things that I want to do. As for the time that I lost not doing those things whilst tending to my child? I don't even notice it's gone! The Lord seriously blesses me a lot when I do the smallest things. Small task = play with child. Huge blessing = happiness and a better attitude.

So yeah, right now patience and selflessness are two things that I am working on because I know they help make my days so much nicer and they most definitely help improve my attitude. And I have got to have a better attitude or else I could turn into quite the Debbie Downer.

As I have been thinking about this though I have realized something... this "happiness" and "good-attitude" thing that I keep referring too is really the presence of the spirit. We are told over and over how important it is to live worthy of the spirit. I'm so glad that the Lord is giving enough to allow me to have the spirit in my home even when I struggle all of the time with the things He asks me to do. They are the smallest of things but He acknowledges my efforts and I'm eternally grateful for that, because that's all I can do is always keep trying and re-trying, over and over again. 

Alright then, I'm feeling good. I can do it. I can see the bright side of every situation. I can smile and laugh instead of get frustrated. I can teach instead of scold. I can make days when Todd is away (and of course when he's here too) so much better and filled with the spirit as I focus on the silver lining of even the smallest situations. I can love. All with the help of the Lord and His generous amounts of blessings that get me through the day, one day at a time.

I really hope all of you guys can feel this way, too.

What do you think?? Are there certain things that are game changers for you?? What is your trick to having a good attitude and having a comparably peaceful home?

p.s. I love you, Todd. Sending good luck waves your way!