Invest in Future Happiness
Emptying the dishwasher late at night does not make me very happy. I’m tired. But I do it, night after night, because when I wake up to a clean kitchen and an empty dishwasher, I feel so happy. “I’m investing in future happiness!” I call out to the family. I’m picking up toys, straightening pillows, […]
Hearty, Hearty Joy
I love mums! We buy some at the local grocery store, and my husband transplants them. I can’t help but smile when I look at these mums. Every time I pass by, I think to myself, “Hearty, hearty mums.” They withstand the bitter cold; they love the sun; they love water. I want to be […]
Cut Out the Unhappy
Today my friend sends me the results of a study that suggests older folks–in their 80’s–are the happiest. The report published in the American National Academy of Sciences claims that as we age, we “become more selective with how we use our time, focusing more on doing things we enjoy and cutting out parts of […]
Give Your Life Away
My arms are sore from turning double-dutch jump ropes. From 6:30 PM-7:30 PM, 30 (yes, thirty!) parents and children came out to the parking lot for Monday Night Neighborhood Fitness. Imagine a swarm of children riding bikes and scooters or playing football and Frisbee. Imagine a car blaring music from an iPod so a group […]
Why We Still Need Road Trips
Interstate 99 South. You’re only driving to another town to see a new doctor. It’s just 45 minutes from home, but you’re all alone, and in mother time, 45 minutes is an eternity of quiet space. You leave one town and enter another–county after county–and when you crest that hill, the tree line looks like […]
How You Know You’re Happy
A friend tells me that Oprah will feature a quiz today to determine if we are happy. The radio also announces a seminar I can pay for that will help me realize whether I’m happy. I also learn from a blog reader that certain countries actually try to measure the happiness of citizens. How would […]
Layer Up
On a cold day like today, with temperatures below 20 degrees and a wind chill that takes your breath away, I have no choice but to face my day with layers. And I’m especially cold since I’ve barely recovered from my illness. With tights, long johns, knee-high pink socks, black boots, wool skirt, wool sweater, […]
Your Beautiful Moments
I introduce Memoir Writing to my students today, and I ask them to write down one or two examples of beautiful moments they’ve experienced. I’m always amazed, year after year, with the types of things we remember from our childhoods. Without fail, a student’s beautiful moment has something to do with nature, friendship, God, travel, […]
What I Cannot Change
The Braiding Impression Over the weekend, I braid little braids all over my daughter’s wet hair. In the morning, we unravel her hair. She loves the “rock star” look. Notice the pink sparkle headband. A simple thing–braiding hair–but oh the joy in the morning when those braids leave impressions all throughout her hair! That […]
One Sure Way Not to Take Yourself So Seriously
I’m in class, teaching difficult things. We stress, we furrow our brows, and we cramp our fingers around our pens as we engineer new thesis positions. We sigh with discouragement as we discuss urgent social and political matters. I lean back, cross my legs, and expose the socks I’m wearing underneath these business slacks. […]