Apparently Oprah Winfrey has been reading my blog. Topics on her show this week included: de-cluttering your life (hello! totally my theme right now -- see my Blog entry about being a cluttered linen closet), the keys to looking healthy and young (OK, I'm pretty healthy and young but the main idea: find your passion in life and make it a priority), and the secret to creating the life you really want (do you know "the secret?").

I've been thinking about those things a lot this week: what are my passions? what makes me happy? what do I want to be when I grow up? Today was Therapy Thursday -- hooray! And I discussed some of this with Louise. She reassured me that one of the main issues that postpartum depression presents is the "loss of self." Here you have this baby to take care of (and in my case, a toddler too), you're nursing, you're tired, you're busy, and on top of all of these standard Mommy-related problems, you feel completely detached from who you really are. And even though you know that ppd is a temporary situation, there is the constant underlying fear that it's not. You worry this new bummed-out You is here to stay and you don't know why and you definitely don't want her to overstay her welcome. Not that she was very welcome in the first place.

So, to counteract the ppd-bummed-out ME, I've spent this week in lots of Oprah-type-what-makes-me-happy analysis. It's been good...and fun thinking (and yes, making lists because list-making does make me happy) about all of the activities and things that fulfill me. Focusing on enjoying the moment and living in the present has made for a good week. Three-year-old Matthew playing and strutting around shirtless with his fireman hat on (looking very ready for the calendar photo-shoot, I might add) was one of those moments I couldn't help but thoroughly enjoy. And his referring to a photographer as a "cheeser" (you know, "Say cheese!") was pretty great too.