Wow

OK, so Amir has been thinking about getting braces for a while now.  (He does not have American teeth.)  But Jose just recently had them put on.  Go Jose! Today Amir had an appointment to speak with an orthodontist.  I thought it was just a consultation.

He came home like this:

I dunno.  Words fail me.

New member of the household

So...yeah...this happened.

Her name is Harley and she's a schnauzer mix.  Isn't that an adorable face?  And the dog's not bad either.

Happiness

I was pondering on the nature of happiness. Why so elusive?  Ephemeral? Dunno.  We cannot choose all the things that come into our lives.  Things happen beyond our control.  But we choose how we react to them.  Let's be honest, life can be pretty crappy.  But my dear family has what we call mock therapy.  We, as a group, choose humor.  Maybe that's why I need to call my dear family- to get perspective- and to laugh.  My mother always quotes Abraham Lincoln "Most folks are just about as happy as they make their minds up to be."  Reading a book on Martha Washington I came across a quote from one of her letters- "I am still determined to be cheerful and to be happy in whatever situation I may be, for I have also learnt from experience that the greater part of our happiness or misery depends upon our dispositions, and not upon our circumstances: we carry the seeds of the one, or the other about with us, in our minds, wherever we go." 
This has been a lesson I have needed to learn.  My dear mother, bless her heart, tried to pound it into me when I was younger. I suppose I am finally ready to listen.