I am Happiest When ...

When I'm feeling sad or down, which honestly is kind of rare these days, I have a few little tricks that can kickstart me into a better place.

Happiness is a Choice.

I get up every day with the knowledge of possibility. It is possible that the milk might be sour, or I'm out of my preferred breakfast staples (large flake oats), or I forgot to pick up honey ham for my daughter's sandwich, or the very possible possibility that the kids will fight today. But if you move through the challenges one moment, one breath at a time, it can be so much easier. I always ask myself if it's worth it to get upset about the hard times. Answer is that it's not really worth it - granted, there are always going to be times when the kids just will not stop fighting, and the energy required to make them stop is explosive. My challenge is to let it go as soon as I have released that energy. Hanging on to stuff just sets an icky tone for the drive to school. I try to follow my son's lead when he freaks out on me one moment, only to ask me a question about something completely unrelated in this calm and relaxed tone. I think the kid really has it figured out! Maybe it's a boy thing.

There are other things too, that tend to throw a person off - like this unseasonably warm weather. I never like the sound of water dripping in late January. It freaks me out because I think winter might be ending too soon ... when I have wintery things to do that I haven't done yet, such as cross country skiing. I know there will always be time for these things, it is Quesnel after all - notorious for Winter.

The only constant is change. If a person could keep that thought in her mind all day ... because

Happiness is a Choice.