A Secret to Success as a Working Mom: Turn Burn Out Into Bliss and Embrace Joy

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Last weekend my youngest was committed to going to the "Water Steps" a man-made water fall in Pittsburgh by the rivers. (Fun Fact: Three rivers converge in Pittsburgh--The Ohio River, The Monongahela River, and the Allegheny River.)  He kept asking. I knew he was serious when he said, "If you won't take me, I'll ask  daddy!" Given that it was highly unlikely that would happen on an unscheduled day, I relented. So, we went. It wasn’t planned in the way most things in my life are. No calendar block. No checklist. No “productive” purpose attached. And, so in some respects it was uncomfortable. And yet, it seemed necessary. It was the idea of my 8-year-old—offered with the kind of urgency only children possess when something is profoundly important to them.
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It’s a Beautiful Day in Neighborhood…

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"It’s a beautiful day in neighborhood…"

Even when Fred Rogers sang that song he realized that some days would be full of disappointment and tears and some days would be full of anger and fights. He realized that dark days would come, but he also realized that words have power.

Each day has beauty. However, life is hard. You can easily miss the beauty of each day by getting too caught up in your own problems.

I am generally an optimistic person. However, sometimes even I would miss the day’s beauty if I didn’t make it a point to notice. On days when I am embroiled in a fight with someone, the beauty can be hard to detect. On days when I am sick, it can seem as if the day only exists to torture me. On days when I hear something disturbing on the news, I question whether beauty exists at all.

On those days, I decide to call the day beautiful, even though it is not apparent. Words have power. By declaring the day beautiful I am transformed. Amazingly, I begin to see the blue sky--even on an over cast day.

I can see the sunshine, peeking out from behind the clouds. And I notice the rainbow forming after the storm.

In so doing, I control my emotions.  By calling the day beautiful I realize what Mr. Rogers meant. Every day can be beautiful because I can make it so. It matters little what the day looks like.


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