I spent my afternoon doing something completely not pleasurable. The dentist. Shudder. I hate the dentist. I want to cry every time I hear and feel them scraping my teeth. Hate. Hate hate hate. What a way to spend my boy’s one month birthday, huh? That’s right. Little man is one month old today!! Where did the time go? In honor of his birthday, and the fact time goes so quickly, I thought it would be fun to do a mini flashback post. Here we go!

One Week Ago: I was hanging out and having a girls’ night with my friend Mandy. I guess that means I can’t complain about Peter having a boys’ night tonight? Darn.

One Month Ago: I was taking an ambulance in an ice storm to the hospital to push 7 lbs 15 oz of baby out of me. I did so quite happily. As you may recall, I was pretty over that pregnancy. 😉

One Year Ago: I actually had no clue, so I turned to the trusty blog search. Apparently, one year ago today I was awoken early by Makenzie, looking forward to a full body workout, and considering whether or not I view Valentine’s Day as ridiculous. Things don’t change much over a year in some ways, huh?  But oh thank goodness my blogging has! I feel more confident after finding my “voice”.

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Five Years Ago: I’m pretty sure 5 years ago this weekend a bunch of friends and I went to a cabin in the woods.Check out the attractive pictures…

I never said the cabin was anything more than a shack. It was basically camping with some wood walls. We stole all the guys’ warm clothing.

I also never said I’m not a huge dork. Apparently some things don’t change in 5 years either, huh? 😉 Somehow I still even look the same!

Question of the Evening – What were you doing one month/year ago? 5 years?

Oh, pleasure! You gotta love those little moments of pleasure that sneak up on you.

Like…Braedon only waking up once last night!!! He slept all the way until 3:15! That is huge for his age. 7 hours straight for him? 5 hours straight for mom? Pleasure!

Or how about…a delicious bowl of oats to start your morning. The simple fact I don’t get sick of this mixture and it makes mornings easier is pleasure in itself.

I can’t forget…my jeans fitting noticeably better than when they first did, like in the picture below. It very well could be the stretch factor of the pants but either way it feels good and gives me a bit of pleasure.

And of course there’s…Makenzie looking up at me with the biggest smile and saying the four most beautiful words – “I love you, Mommy”. Pure pleasure.

I must not leave out…getting fabulous blogging news and opportunities. Yea. That’s pleasurable.

All of those are fine and dandy. But you know what? Pleasure is temporary. Joy is what we are really after. There is a distinct difference in my opinion. Pleasure comes in moments…joy is an overall descriptor of our demeanor, our lives. If none of the above happened – if Braedon slept terribly all the time; if Makenzie pitched temper tantrums hourly; if this blog hadnot grown at all since it started– if none of that existed, I would still have joy.

I would have joy in being a mother and loving my children. I would have joy in the physical health I have, regardless of shrinking sizes. I would have joy in the chance to share my thoughts and connect with others through blogging, no matter where it leads. I would have joy in the blessing of having food available to nourish my body.

For awhile there I confused the two. Or at least I thought pleasure and joy were interchangeable. I would pursue actions that brought me temporary joy (aka pleasure) – binging on sugary treats, partying too much with friends. physical experiences with guys I didn’t care about, spending money, etc. I would feel any number of things in the act of pleasure: satisfied, desirable, powerful, exciting. Then, I would come crashing down with nowhere else to go than seeking temporary pleasure again. I didn’t have JOY in my life.

I certainly still like eating dessert, having a drink with friends, “connecting” with my husband, or buying a cute new outfit. Now, though, they are simply moments of pleasure that add to a life full of joy. No longer do I need to turn to pleasure for a short term high in an attempt to pretend to have what I lack. Pleasure = good. Joy = great! They are both worth experiencing, but NOT worth confusing. I don’t know what path brings joy into your own life, I just hope you know that is where your focus should lie.

Question of the Day – What’s something that brings you pleasure? How does it fit into overall joy? And do you think there’s a difference between the two?

**This post is part of February’s Self Discovery Word-By-Word series. Check it out if you would like to participate with your own post!