Success

There is a quote that gets thrown about a lot amongst Mormon circles. I have heard it for as long as I can remember. It doesn't make it any less true though.

"No other success can compensate for failure in the home".

When I was still a teenager (you know, just up until recently *cough cough*), I thought this was referring to the rising divorce rates.

I just realized recently that there is so much more to it.

As long as things within our home are ok, I am ok. I'm not saying I have the perfect family by any stretch of the imagination. There are tantrums and tears on a regular basis - and I don't just mean from Anthony ;o).

We enjoy each others company and there is laughter in our home every single day without fail.

We tell each other we love each other several times a day, usually without even realizing out of habit. I don't think this makes it any less meaningful though, rather I think it means we feel this way all the time so it doesn't seem out of the ordinary to say it.

We fight sometimes. But deep down, even though our children sometimes say they want new parents, I know they love us more than anything. I know because they say they never want to get married because they don't want to leave us. We as parents feel somewhat differently.

We get excited over family outings. We went to a movie together a few days ago to use some movie tickets I got for my birthday. We only do this once or twice a year because of the cost, but I was looking forward to it all day. I got messages from Anthony during the day telling me he was excited too. Tony and Carter told their school and preschool friends about it. Our family date brought me joy, but not as much as knowing how much we were looking forward to spending time together.

I am happiest when we are all home just lazing about together. This is my idea of a perfect way to spend the day.

I think what I consider our 'success' is our stability. We may not know exactly what the future will bring for us, but I know there is an 'us'. We are happy and that is all I need.