When the going gets tough, the tough watch...Shrek?

The other day I was having one of those days. You know the ones where you feel as if you used to be a somebody, a person that mattered in the world who didn't do the same bloody thing day after day after day? No? It's just me, then? Great. Anyway, I was having one of those days when my husband suggested we watch the newest enstallment of the 'Shrek Empire' known as Shrek Forever After. We tucked our prize possession into his crib with a blankie and a kiss and headed to the living room for 'movie night'. The movie began with showing a typical joyous day in Shrek's life with his wife and three baby ogres, where everyone was happily enjoying each other's company...all smiles and sunshine. It then showed day two with the exact same sequence of events, but this time Shrek was getting a little annoyed with the monotony of the day. It then showed a few more days with the exact same events, but with Shrek reaching his breaking point of 'Holy shit, this is getting OLD!!' Same thing, everyday. The first day fabulous, consecutive days not so much.

It was at this point that I realized, THIS IS EXACTLY HOW I FEEL!!! I have a fabulous life, a wonderful husband who provides for his family, an adorable, sweet little boy that I love with all my heart and a few furry friends to boot (sometimes literally if they get underfoot accidentally). Then why was I feeling so 'woe is me'...what the hell did I have to complain about?! Well, I'm SHREK! Not the big green ogre part, although at certain times I'm sure my husband would disagree, but the whole 'day one was great, but repeating day one 365 times is driving me NUTS!' Suddenly I didn't feel so alone anymore...a big green cartoon was going through the same thing as me!

Shrek was also perturbed with the fact that no one was scared by him anymore, that he wasn't a 'real' ogre anymore. Sound familiar, anyone? Yep, I'm Shrek.

I couldn't wait to see how Shrek would learn to get over his feelings of monotony and learn to love his life so that I could too. I mean if we can't learn from cartoons, what is the world coming to?! Without giving away the movie, which was hilarious and sweet, basically what transpired was a spin on It's a Wonderful Life. By the end of the movie, Shrek learns to appreciate his nice little life with his wife, three cute little green ogres and his two 'pets', donkey and puss and so do I. Well, I only have one cute little green ogre...wait, he's not green....anyway, you get the idea.

Basically I have come to realize that, just like Shrek, I DO have the 'Forever After' that I've always dreamed of. I have a husband that loves me, a happy, healthy little boy, a roof over my head and a few luxuries sprinkled on top. So what if things get a little montonous now and then and that I'm not a 'real' ogre (oops, I mean teacher) anymore? It's those repetitive days that make me who I am...a wife, a mom, a substitute teacher and it's up to me to learn to love them. In the meantime, I bought a book of 365 activities to do with a toddler.