When I was young, I dreamed of a fairytale happy ending. The kind with a great husband, four beautiful kids, a high powered career, and time to fit everything in.

What I learned as life went on was that happiness had nothing to do with the man I had in my life, the amount written on my paycheck, or the amount of time I had at the end of the day. In fact, the more of those things I had the less happy I seemed to be. It was quite confusing.

Then two years ago when I ended my long term relationship, I began to find that little bit of happiness. Later, when my job ended and I focused on the dreams I had neglected for so long I found more of it. I didn’t think I could get any happier.

This past year I met an amazing woman who has become a close friend. We have a lot of the same beliefs and been through some of the same difficulties in life. In the past few months, I have begun spending more time at her house. My amazing friend has twin teenagers who always have friends over, a four-year-old, a guy who cooks, and another friend who takes up sofa residency quite often. Her house is often full, loud, and chaotic. Yet, I have never been surrounded by so much love.  When I have a deadline or just need to breathe I head up the hill. Sometimes I don’t come back down for days.

When I look around from the dining room table and see a house full of hormonal teens, princesses, perimenopausal women, and men who cook I can’t help but smile. THIS is what I have waited my whole life to find. Pure happiness!