It's Been a Pleasure.

I'll share a little story with you. A few years ago, I used to work for a company where my employer also asked me to babysit his kids a few times a week. It was totally no big deal and I enjoyed the change of scenery very much. I think I was their sitter for somewhere around 4 or 5 years.
When I first started watching the kids, it wasn't my cup of tea. Not that I minded children. I mean, I've been an aunt for 17 years. But it was boring. And while I looooove my nieces and nephews, other people's kids can be pretty annoying. Especially bratty ones who's parents give them whatever they want. So what started out as a refreshing detour from the daily grind became an annoyance that I didn't much look forward to. I'd give the kids stuff to do to keep them busy, I'd plop them down in front of the TV... pretty much whatever would get them out of my hair.
One day, and I don't remember what caused it, I just stopped. I decided that I was going to start enjoying my job. I thought of activities that would be fun for the kids. I took them places in their parents (SWEET) car. We played games and watched cartoons. And suddenly, it wasn't work anymore. I wasn't going to their house to babysit, I was going to their house to hang out. And it changed everything. I started to enjoy my time with these kids, and they started to really gain an affinity for me as well. We were just a bunch of kids, having fun and playing. And I loved it, and miss those times to this day.

But isn't that SO how  life is? We go to our jobs, sit in our relationships, deal with our parents or roommates... and just look at it like work. Ugh, I HAAAAVE to do this thing. And it's like... that's not a life, man. You're going to live a long time (hopefully) and there are going to be a lot of things that can be seen as "work." So the way I see it, you can either bum out on it and take it seriously and wait for the fun to start. OR you can make the work fun. Relax. Don't take it all so seriously. Play games, eat chocolate for breakfast (not all the time, of course!), go play in the rain. You can always hop in a warm shower and eat whole grains later. Life isn't so serious, after all. It's just a matter of how you look at it.
I think that, for me, I spend a lot of my time looking through these "self-help" blogs and trying to perfect myself. I want to hone in on who and what I should be, and that's really great. It is. But it's important that I also take the time to enjoy who I am. My failures are, on most occasions, sort of amusing. My flaws make me unique. I keep asking people how to help me FIX me, rather than just developing myself into a person that I can enjoy and love. Flaws and all. And maybe that's been my biggest problem all along: I'm a fixer. I'm a doer. I'm an evolutionist. Evolve, grow, develop- yes. But most importantly: Enjoy. Enjoy my life, my friends, my cat... just enjoy it all. When it's all put in perspective, enjoyment may well be life's biggest lesson.

(Ps I know you've seen this picture already. I just love it that much.)