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15 Days of Happiness

May 13, 2013 jennifer Musings on Life and Beauty

I woke up last night every hour or so with the realization that I’d been trying to solve one difficult problem after another in one tense dream after the other. When, at last, it was time to wake the children for school, I already felt mentally worn out. While the things I was stressed about in my dreams were completely unreal, the feeling of dealing with successive problems was. As I look at the calendar and try to merge it with my to-do list for the duration of the month I wonder how we will possibly accomplish all that needs doing.

My next thought was that this is it. Today, right now, this month, is what I have to work with. While I know the stress of May will decline when my children are grown, it’s my reality for a good many years and I want the next few weeks to be fantastic. I want to accomplish much, feel happy and energetic, and help my children do the same. Much as I look forward to summer vacation, today is the time to be happy. It’s my responsibility to make time every day to feel and recognize joy.

To keep myself on track, I’m going to post a little series called “15 Days of Happiness.” Every day I will share something I’ve done that day which nurtured happiness. One of the greatest lessons I’ve learned in the last 18 months is that happiness is a choice, but it’s also a skill. We can learn to do things in ways that naturally enhance our happiness, making it easier to greet life’s challenges with equanimity. I’ve come a long way in developing some of these skills, but feel that I need a little brush-up course. It will help me finish up May with a happy heart and should also be a great springboard into summer. (I picked these flowers from my garden to help get me in the spirit.)

~~So come back tomorrow for Day 1, and let’s make these next 15 days the happiest of the year so far!~~
*edited to add: It seems there should be a spot for a list “15 Days of Happiness” posts, so here it is:

Day 1: Wear A Smile Day 2: Make Time Your Friend Day 3: A Deep Breath Day 4: Enjoy the Flowers Day 5: Give a Gift Day 6: Try Something New Day 7: Live in the Moment Day 8: Do Something you Enjoy Day 9: Paint Something Day 10: Pull Some Weeds Day 11: Plant a Garden Day 12: Memory Lane Day 13: Rearrange Something Day 14:

Day 15:

Happy Monday, Jennifer

One comment abundance, flowers, happiness

Still Here

May 3, 2013 jennifer Musings on Life and Beauty

It’s been almost two weeks since I last posted… an extended break I didn’t plan. I just set my timer for 15 minutes, long enough to briefly check in here and then get back to work. It’s May now, something I can hardly believe yet at the same time it must be May. No other time of year feels like this.

Life is crazy busy – frantic – and yet there have been so many little pleasures in the cracks. Some I’ve done a good job of nourishing; others spring up on their own to briefly flood my heart.

I’m giddy about my flowers, all cut from my own yard. It’s been such a pleasure to share a vase here and there, to let my children pick at will, and to fill many containers in the house with them. While I hope to get much better at gardening, and to learn to nurture a cutting garden that’s in bloom non-stop from spring to fall, I’m happy to take spring’s bounty as an achievement.

I’ve been thinking a lot about happiness and how so many different things make me happy, and how so many different things also rob me of happiness. Sometimes it’s harder to recognize joyful moments when you’re running too fast and that’s definitely the speed we’re at right now. I’ve decided to keep track of a joyful moment every day in May and hope it will help recharge me.

Today’s joy: half of my children brought a friend home from school and the entire group managed to get along well for several hours. My kitchen is clean, even with everyone running in and out and I love that feeling. My oldest son just did some work in the yard without being reminded and then decided to help a neighbor with his overgrown lawn. All day long I’ve been reminding myself to focus on what is going right and my heart sang with happiness when I heard him tell me where he was going. I still have a mountain of clean laundry to fold, several bathrooms to clean, and a long to-do list to work on, but these three things going right are enough.

My sewing machine is as neglected as my blog. I was talking to my parents last weekend and described this time of year as my “sewing off-season.” There is so much to do elsewhere, and now yard work is on the list as well. I do peek in every day or two at the tidy stacks and hope I’ll have time soon. I set some wildly important goals for the month, one of which is to thoroughly go through every room in the house before school is out so we can start the summer clean and clutter-free. While I haven’t made the progress I hoped to, I have had many days when I went to bed exhausted but happy with the feeling that I might just have ended the day a tiny bit ahead of where I started.

The timer has rung and I have an army of hungry children to care for.

And a gorgeous spring evening to enjoy.

I’ll be back soon. Promise.

{Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real}

March 28, 2013 jennifer Musings on Life and Beauty

{Pretty} It’s been a week when all kinds of “planned” things went wrong, but countless unexpected things brought joy. The frustrating trip to the post office yielded this lovely set of new postage stamps which are so pretty I put them on my shelf to admire. I love all the warm yellows and coral colors in the vintage flowers.

{Happy} There are a few daffodils blooming in my yard. It made me happy to send a bundle of them off as a little gift.

{Funny} My first grader came home from school and knelt down by the footrest in my office, which happens to rock. It was so funny to watch him rock himself to sleep on it!

I came back a few minutes later and he had moved to the chair. The next time I checked he was gone. I found him in his bed, sound asleep.

{Real} My little girls are in the same mode every day: color in the coloring books, then cut everything out and use them as paper dolls. There is always a pile of paper scraps somewhere and today was no different. They make me smile. I love their imaginations and am so deeply grateful for these two no matter how many messes they scatter across the house.

It’s been a day of feeling thankful for simple things, especially in the natural world. Clouds in the sky, the blue of the sky against white capped mountains, sunsets, new growth on bushes and tulips on their way up. We live in such a beautiful world!I hope you’re enjoying it too.

Jennifer linking here

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