Live everyday like it’s picnic day. That’s our new family mantra. Jono told me that he doesn’t like Mondays because he gets family “withdrawals”. We get to hang out as a family all weekend and then Monday comes around and he goes back to work. Although he (thankfully) really likes his job, he said that he wanted something to look forward to on Mondays and I agreed it was a fun idea. So, voila. We’ve decided to make every Monday official picnic day.
When he gets home from work I have everything ready for a picnic dinner and we head out to one of our favorite parks. Being outside and enjoying the fresh air is fantastic.
But picnic day goes beyond just a blanket and food at the park. It’s family. It’s joy. It’s embracing the small things. It’s watching Jo lay on her side and pick at the grass and being thankful in that very moment.
It makes for a great start to the week
Since we’ve made picnic day a thing, I’ve been contemplating the concept of happiness and enjoying the small things (like picnic day).
So here are my thoughts. Hopefully they aren’t too jumbled–
The older I get the more and more I believe that happiness is a choice. Of course I’ve heard that forever, but I believe it now more than I used to.
Finding happiness is a continual balance. It’s so personal and internal.
Happiness is somehow finding peace. Peace with the past and peace with whatever the future may hold. And I think that it’s so much tied to forgiveness and hope.
I also believe that it can be hard to be happy, even when it shouldn’t be. To some happiness comes more natural and to others it takes more work.
For me it means working hard in marriage to create a happy atmosphere for Jono and I and little Jo. Some days it’s easy and some days it’s not.
I will say that becoming a mother has helped me practice more skills of a happy person. I 100% believe that. When I look at her little smiling face it’s a lot more difficult to be mad, or sad, or frustrated. And having her as an external source of happiness has allowed me to slide more easily into working on my intrinsic happiness.
She has been a motivation for me to work on my own happiness. I want her to see my happiness when I look at her and to know that she lives and will continue to live in a happy place.
Life is too short to be unhappy. I don’t want to look back at my life and think man, I should have enjoyed it.
So, I guess what I’m trying to say is to try and find a little happiness in your day. If you’re a list person, make a list of what makes you happy. If you’re a sticky note person, put them all over your mirror. Maybe you like to have positive quotes throughout your home, or notifications on your phone. Find your motivation and do whatever it is that helps you remember the grandness of life.
I hope that you have a happy Monday!
Xoxo,
Karlee
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