Finding Joy in the Unexpected

There's a mouse in the house.

We had just spent over 7 hours of hard labour at our property, and unloaded all the heavy equipment back in to the house. We were both exhausted, muscles already stiffening up, and looking forward to popping a frozen pizza in the oven and binge watching a couple episodes of Homeland before heading to bed. 

I was in the bedroom post-shower putting on my cozy pyjamas and feeling so fresh and clean when the cat came in with something in his mouth. I looked at him wide-eyed and quickly told him to go back outside. He must have thought I said "drop it" and set the very much alive mouse down on the ground. It ran and hid under a bag. I yelled for Chris.

We barricade the bedroom (including the cat door, though the bugger knocked it over and left us to our own devices within a few minutes) and spent the next 45 minutes trying to catch the mouse. I even had a heart to heart with it and told him we were just trying to get him back outside and it was a win-win. He didn't believe me, and ran under the dresser.

In the process of finally getting the mouse out of the house (alive) we completely tore apart the bedroom. Anything that had been under the bed was on the bed, all the books were out of the bookshelf, the bed was in the middle of the room, and towels were bunched up under the doors. It was a complete mess.

All we could do was laugh.

Life can hand you unexpected items every single day when you're the least prepared for it, and every single moment you are offered the opportunity to choose joy. For most of us, experiencing joy looks like planning something out that brings us joy - like the joy I find in playing with my nieces and nephews. What is less common is finding joy in the unexpected. 

I could have gotten pissed off, yelled at the cat, and been cranky the rest of the evening because I was tired and hungry. And I don't think anyone would have blamed me for it. But instead, we turned what could have easily been a bad evening in to a hilarious saga that is our life and experience with animals.

What I'm reminded most in this experience is that joy doesn't happen because of the circumstances, it's a choice in who you're being every moment of the day. 

And you'll notice when you choose joy, even in those unexpected situations, that you will have a lot more light in your life. 

I'd love to hear any of your crazy stories of the unexpected and where you chose joy, below!