Our pet turtle is depressed.
I know this because I googled, “How to tell if your pet turtle is sad.”
To be fair, we are not the best pet parents. The number of fish who have died under our watch is embarrassingly high. Over the years, we’ve sheltered several cats—all have disappeared without a trace in the middle of the night. We also have a Yorkie, and I hear the neighbors tsk tsking us behind our backs because he embarrasses us regularly. But despite little supervision and a failed attempt at obedience school, he’s still hanging on. Unlike our cats, this little one actually DOES have nine lives.
Sometimes my husband and I both look at each other utterly amazed that our actual biological children have survived under our roof for lo these many years.
When we moved into our new house last Spring, the turtle got an upgrade. He had been relegated to the unfinished basement so as not deter any prospective anti-reptile buyers. In the new house, he got a new tank, a new rock, a new light, and a new view.
We positioned him right next to a sunny window in our upstairs loft.
Oh, how he loved frolicking in his new habitat!
But you know how it is…life happens. I decided I didn’t like the placement of the new tank.
So I moved him.
Then the light burned out.
Then I replaced the special reptile light with a “regular” human lightbulb and called it “good.”
Only it wasn’t.
The new L.E.D. light emitted practically no heat, and the new corner afforded little view of the outside world. Oh, we continued to feed him and clean the tank every once in a while, but I could tell—our little turtle wasn’t the same.
Until today.
Today I went to PetSmart and bought something called a basking light, and so today after months of huddling in a corner of the tank and refusing to eat, he BASKED on his rock and smiled from ear to red-eared-slider ear.
And it was so easy.
All I did was add light.
But not just any light.
The right light.
When it comes to our own happiness, sometimes I think we make it too complicated. Like our family turtle, we find ourselves huddled under our covers. Maybe we lose our appetite. Or maybe we eat too much. Maybe we stop calling our friends or we ignore our chores. Maybe we procrastinate.
It’s been amazing how much of my life I’ve spent trying to find the perfect combination of friends, work, activities, and hobbies.
But as I’ve shared before we are in a weird season and honestly things are already complicated. We don’t need to make things more complicated by trying to figure out how to make everything perfect.
Sometimes the simple thing is just the thing.
Our turtle doesn’t have a bigger tank, a cleaner tank, or a view of outside.
But he has his light.
The basking light made all the difference in the world.
What one thing might make all the difference in the world for you? That’s what I’m thinking about today.
What if we decided that one good thing could make a good day a great day?
Today I made gingerbread cookies, and the fragrance filled my kitchen with joyful holiday aroma. Our Christmas cards arrived, and I’m listening to holiday music. The Yorkie is curled up next to me as I type. (He’s being good!)
I realized finding one good thing isn’t really that hard because when I set my mind to it, I discover good things everywhere I look. It’s simple. I can do it.
And so can you.
Want more good stuff?