A little over a week ago I realized there were ants in the house. Because of this life changed. One of the first changes was that my sink was no longer accessible. In order to rid the house of ants I was instructed to not clean my kitchen floor (really?), leave the ants alone, and trust the baits would do the job. But their trail was just in front of my sink – making it unusable for cooking or much of anything else. I missed the sink, wanted to clean the floor, and I was ready to have my kitchen back.
Eventually I did find a way to use one side of the double-sink and have been washing the dishes by hand. Hand washing dishes was not something I usually did.
Today another couple of expected and unexpected projects dropped into my lap and I was having a hard time coming up with a joyful moment, so I decided to make my own joy.
While I was pondering how I might do this, I decided it was time to wash the dishes. I stepped out of the things I was supposed to do and stopped to wash glasses, plates, bowls and silverware one by one, in the kitchen sink, standing on the floor I can’t clean yet.
It was then that Joy popped up to say hello while the warm water welcomed my industriousness on this cool day. I was reminded of how much nicer the kitchen looked now that I was hand washing the dishes. Weird but true – it all looks a bit neater than it did. And, there is a satisfaction in completing a project. So many of the ones I’m currently working on don’t finish in the time it takes me to wash dishes! I completed every last one of the dishes and cleaned off the counters.
Accomplishment can be joyful, and it inspires me to keep on keeping on and dig in with relish on the next project.
This is the second day of my thirty-one day joy challenge. To read more about how this started see here.
My question for you on this second day of the challenge is: Have you ever had to make your own joy? If so, I’d like to hear about how you accomplished it.
Enjoy the stories and have a playful and joyful day,
– Mary
