Okay, I’m going to let you all in on a little secret. Some days, I don’t always feel completely and wholly and utterly as happy as my Happy Friday greeting seems to suggest. Some days, I don’t always feel as happy as I would like to be, as happy as I feel I should be, or as happy as I know I can be.

And so, in a moment of complete authenticity and vulnerability, I am going to admit to you now that I am not 100% happy 100% of the time (cue soundtrack: loud GASP). I know, I know, it’s shocking. But true! And yet, when sharing ‘Happy Friday’ messages with really whomever is listening, I want to be able to come from a place of pure happy. Although right now I am indeed very happy, (more on what’s contributing to that in a moment!) today I am going to acknowledge that this week I have certainly not been 100% happy, 100% of the time.

Have any of you ever heard the tale of the two travelers and the farmer? Allow me to indulge and share the story with you now…  

The Two Travellers and the Farmer (edited by Ashliman D.L.)

A traveller came upon an old farmer hoeing in his field beside the road. Eager to rest his feet, the wanderer hailed the countryman, who seemed happy enough to straighten his back and talk for a moment.

“What sort of people live in the next town?” asked the stranger.

“What were the people like where you’ve come from?” replied the farmer, answering the question with another question.

“They were a bad lot. Troublemakers all, and lazy too. The most selfish people in the world, and not a one of them to be trusted. I’m happy to be leaving the scoundrels.”

“Is that so?” replied the old farmer. “Well, I’m afraid that you’ll find the same sort in the next town. Disappointed, the traveller trudged on his way, and the farmer returned to his work. Some time later another stranger, coming from the same direction, hailed the farmer, and they stopped to talk.

“What sort of people live in the next town?” he asked.

“What were the people like where you’ve come from?” replied the farmer once again.

“They were the best people in the world. Hard working, honest, and friendly. I’m sorry to be leaving them.”

“Fear not,” said the farmer. “You’ll find the same sort in the next town.”

It’s all about our outlook, no? Well apparently, although I do believe whole-heartedly in the power of optimism, I was lacking some of that this week. Instead of choosing happy, I chose to act more like the first traveller in the story. 

Wrexham has not make the greatest first impression on me. Or rather, I chose to let Wrexham not make the greatest first impression on me. But allow me to expand a tad upon my week before all of you naysayers judge me and call me Debbie downer!

It’s done nothing but RAIN since we arrived. And I mean rain. Like, hard. As in, on Sunday, we had the same amount of rain in one day as is normal for one month. Now that first day, it didn’t even really bother me. I didn’t let it get me down. I pulled on my rain boots, zipped up my rain coat, opened up my new sturdy umbrella (a thoughtful gift from my man in preparation for our move), and sloshed all the way into town. And I had a good day – despite the fact I couldn’t open a bank account, get a phone, or organize internet.

By the third and the fourth day, however – when the rain still hadn’t let up, and none of these important things to set up when moving to a new place were getting done – I began to let it get me down. I can’t order internet or get a phone number until I have a bank account. And even with a UK passport, I can’t open up a bank account until I have a piece of mail, such as a bill, to prove where I live. And I can’t have a bill sent proving my address until I can provide a bank account. It seemed to be a bit of a rough and never-ending cycle.

Yes, I will admit there were times this week when I was not 100% happy. And it’ll likely also not be the last time I’m not 100% happy. But that’s okay — because it doesn’t have to last. We can choose not to be happy for a short while, but only long enough to realize that we can also choose instead to be happy. And sometimes we may need a little extra bit of faith to trust that the sun will indeed shine again, and that we will indeed have reason to smile once more.

Every day is a new day. A new beginning. A new opportunity to choose. 

And today is not only a new day, but it’s a new Friday. And a special Friday at that. I am writing to you from inside a Starbucks in London (Wrexham also does have a Starbucks, I’ll give it props at least for that!) just down the road from Nottinghill Gate station. It’s buzzing, I’m hearing German which makes me smile, and knowing I am just up the road from my sister’s flat makes me happy. And in a few minutes I will be leaving to hop on the infamous London underground tube to the airport, where I will be welcoming my other sister, her wonderful husband, and my most precious neice ever. And I am so looking forward to the special time we will be sharing together. Yes, it’s a special Friday.

Sometimes we can choose to instead see all of the sun in our lives, despite the buckets of rain that may be falling down all around us. And today, I choose happy. And look at that, the sun just came out. Happy Friday indeed.

Have a FAB week, everyone!