Trying to see the bright side

I'm trying my hardest to see the bright side of things, but lately I am starting to doubt that there is a bright side to some things.

Take death for example. Where is the bright side to death? Where do 4 young children left without their Mummas find a bright side to losing them? Where does a wife, suddenly widowed with 2 young children find the bright side to her husbands passing? One thing I know for certain, the world is a much duller place for having lost such amazing people. I may never have known them in 'reality' but not knowing someone in real life doesn't make losing them any less of a loss. People the world over cried and grieved when Michael Jackson passed away. Some even needed to receive grief counselling, all for someone they had never met in person, but who had touched their hearts in a way that left a profound affect on them. They missed him and mourned his loss.

Whilst I was never close to any of the beautiful souls that have recently left too soon, I did feel impacted at times by one. We rarely crossed paths. We were both members of an online forum. She was one of those people you just knew would say what everyone was thinking, or what everyone should have been thinking. She was effervescent and that shone through in all of her posts. I have stayed up reading her blog from start to end and have now felt overcome with a sense of loss. I now realise I have things in common with her. I would love to be able to ask her questions. I would love some of her advice. I would love to compare and tell her what has worked for me in the past. I would love to find a way to bring her back for her friends that had the amazing gift of knowing her in person. I wish I had the chance to get to know her when she was here.
You will be missed terribly Lucy. (Just as I wrote this, Mini Him's Alphie Robot turned on & off by itself!)

Now, I find myself trying to find the bright side to my own life. Metal Man is driving me CRAZY! But I need to take a breather from the last thing he has made me cry about and see how funny he is. How much he loves his siblings, how much he does try. I wonder if taking something away from him will make him stop in his tracks and realise just how serious Prince Charming & I are, or if it will have the opposite effect on him and make him rebel even more. I remember once wishing that newborns/infants/toddlers came with instruction manuals. What I wouldn't give right now for an instruction manual for teenaged boys.

But, how can I feel sad when I have Mini Him running into my room dressed in Lightning McQueen singlet and matching 'big man' undies complete with bicycle helmet? While Teen Queen is dressing Princess Ratbag? I was woken this morning by Mini Him hopping in to bed with me, drifting straight back off to sleep and proceeding to giggle away at whatever wonderful dream he was having. Moments like these are my bright side. Moments like these fade the crappy moments.
I can hear Metal Man making Mini Him some big man toast. When Metal Man was a little one we had run out of the usual toppings for toast. Rather than risking a melt down, I sprinkled some cinnamon & sugar on his toast. Metal Man being the fussy child he was flat out refused to try it - until it was labeled as being 'Big Man Toast'. After that day it became a firm favourite. Metal Man recently introduced Mini Him to the joys of big man toast and Mini Him won't have anything else on his toast now, apart from the occasional Begebite (vegemite).
My kids are my bright side. I am so blessed to have amazing and challenging children. Sometimes I just need a swift kick in the butt to make me see just where my bright side really is.