Happy Places

Dave and I just returned from a week in Cabo, where we read books, sat by the lagoon, ate great food, and really just enjoyed spending time with one another after a CRAZY busy fall (work for me; golf for Dave).  <sigh>
When we were leaving yesterday for the airport, another couple leaving vacation for Chicago asked if they could ride along with us in our shuttle. We gladly brought them along, and we all began talking about how beautiful the beaches were, how green Cabo was this time (usually by December, it is a bit brown other than the resort areas that are meticulously landscaped and the Pacific Ocean and the lovely Sea of Cortez), and how serene the week had been.  I said aloud, "Cabo has truly become our happy place", and the couple agreed.  But as Dave and I sat, side by side, in the airport, awaiting our departure back home, I realized that pretty much any place can be my happy place if I simply have the right attitude.  
As many of you know, Dave gives me grief about saying "Today was the best day ever!" after I conduct a workshop for teachers, administrators, or professors.  He argues, "Not every day can be the best day ever!" Hmmm....but I wonder if it can if you simply look at it the right way.  The best job I ever had was the one I was doing at the time. When I was a teacher, that was the best. I didn't believe anything could be more fun...or frustrating...or tiring...or rewarding.  But when I became a school counselor, I said the same thing:  "This is the best job ever!" Not only did I get a chance to still teach lessons in classrooms, I got to know every student in the school and get hugs all the time.  Lo and behold, when I became the principal at "the best elementary school in the world" (do you happen to see a theme brewing?), that truly was the best gig ever! Not only was I working with all the students, parents, and staff, I got a chance to work with other principals and mentor some potential administrators as well.  What a treat!!  But then Dave and I moved to Tucson from Florida, and I had a choice to make:  become a principal here...or strike out and try something new! Seven years later, and educational consulting is still new with every single school or district or university with whom I am blessed to work! BEST JOB EVER!!!  Was I lying about the other paths being the best?  Of course not!  They all prepared me to become the best "me" I can be today!  And that is no easy feat to be a best me, just ask Dave. On second thought, just take my word for it.  
Do I get frustrated sometimes?  Oh sure. But I can honestly say I cannot remember having a bad DAY! I have had not-so-ideal moments, but there is always more learning to do and always more teaching to do as long as there are others who believe there is more learning to do, as well. And that, my friends, is a pretty cool deal.
So, is Cabo my happy place?  Absolutely!  But so is sitting right here on the couch, listening to the gentle snore of our latest foster Lab. Ana is so happy to simply have a soft place to land for now, and for being able to give her that for awhile makes this current couch with this current love of a dog my happy place.  
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I hope and pray you have a happy place and that you are able to access it often and fondly.
Happy Communicating!

Shelly