So the other day, I swing by my three year-old son’s Sunday School class to see how he is doing potty-training-wise. He is sitting at their little table with a few other classmates eating Goldfish crackers and drinking juice. His teacher points to a poster that is on the table that has different faces on it showing different emotions. She tells me that she pointed to Happy and asked Piers what makes him happy. “Daddy” was his reply. That will melt your heart. Of all the things in this little guy’s life, that day without me being around, he said I made him happy.

Sometimes I feel that I’m in a constant struggle against the forces of chaos around me. I do my best to mitigate the effects of different financial, spiritual, social, professional, and recreational pressures on me and my family so that we can enjoy life more. My thoughts are “if I take care of small stuff now it will never become big” and for the most part it is working very well. My wife and I have greatly lowered our stress levels and are much happier than before.

But sometimes I get so caught up in trying to protect myself and my family that I miss the joy that is happening around me. Last Sunday reminded me of that, as did our vacation earlier. I got to enjoy being with my family and they with me. There is no sense in achieving balance if you never get to enjoy it.

So today’s post is a brief one. No challenges to better yourself or tackle that project that you have been avoiding. Instead, just sit back and enjoy the fruits of your labor.