Happiness

Call me old fashioned.
So I've got a novel concept that I am have been pursuing for some time now. It's called HAPPINESS. I found that concept to be elusive in my first 30 years of life, but over the last seven I am finding that it is easier to achieve than I ever thought. 
I believe that being happy is the most important thing in life. I always kind of thought this even while I was a younger man. I knew that I was unhappy, but I didn't know how to go about achieving happiness. I heard all sorts of ideas and self-help concepts, but I couldn't achieve happiness. I was stuck in a rut with my life.
I knew what I wanted out of life, but I never had the drive or courage to go about achieving it. I wanted to be happy in my work, and more importantly have a family that I could love and have love me back. Well, I thought I knew what I wanted anyway. But, I'm always making things hard on myself, so maybe I didn't really know. 
Walt Disney is full of it!
I have ALWAYS wanted to teach and coach at the high school level. I thought I was put here on this planet to do those two things. I thought my personal life would fall into place right behind that, and I'd live as Walt Disney always says "Happily Ever After." Little did I know that that concept  doesn't really exist. I say that because "ever after" signifies an end to me. Well, endings suck. Plus, even the happiest of lives, a little rain must fall.  Let's just say it was a damn monsoon there for a while in my life. I had a lot, and I mean a lot, of jobs over the years. None of them were what I thought I was here for. Sure, I sort of enjoyed a couple of them, but nothing I ever looked forward to going to. Some of them, including my latest, I just hated. As for the personal happiness, well I've told that story in a recent blog post. So you already know how unhappy I was prior to 2003 and how happy I am now.
Life: Not always what it seems.
So, I've mentioned that I always thought I was here to teach and coach. Recently I've begun to rethink that. I have found true happiness in a job that I never thought possible. I recently quit my employment with The World's Largest Retailer(for you uninformed, that's Wal-Mart.) It wasn't the world's greatest job by any means, but it was a job. In this economy that's saying something. But, I was miserable there. I knew in my heart of hearts that I wasn't supposed to be working there. I'm meant for something else. They began cutting my hours for some reason known only to those that do the scheduling there, and it became increasingly clear to my wife and I that I needed to get out. Presto, I am now doing the most important job I have ever had. I enjoy it so much, and it makes me HAPPY!!!
I am a SAHD!!! I love being with my kids and watching them grow every day. I now realize that I was put here to raise these two amazing kids, and be married to this amazing woman. I am now doing what I am supposed to be doing with my life. I could not be happier. I am even giving the whole Home Schooling concept a lot of thought. This of course has a lot to do with Mr. Almighty Dad himself, Keith Wilcox. He has a blog post about it here: http://www.almightydad.com/education/homeschooling-an-argument-for-year-round-school 
So what I'm saying is, don't be surprised if you fall unwittingly into the perfect job for you. My only problem is, what am I going to do when the kids are both in school? What then?
My next post.
In my next blog entry I am going to discuss the top five reasons that being a SAHD makes me happier than I could ever imagine possible.
Until then, have a great weekend.
Oh, and I forgot to post my Football weekend predictions. I hope no one missed them, but let's just say that I would have been way off. Again!