Happy Habits

What are your happy habits? What IS a happy habit?

Happy Habits are things you do that make you happy. These can be big or small, they can be easy or difficult. But they MAKE. YOU. HAPPY.

Why should you create a list of them? So you can do what makes you happy! And healthy :) I started thinking about these things while in the shower one day (where I do most of my thinking!) I washed my face with Neutrogena Deep Clean Invigorating Foaming Facial Scrub. I give you the product name, because it has an incredible menthol smell that just wakes me up and I love it! It makes me happy. What a small thing to bring me happiness and calm.

What else can I do today to make my day happy? Because if I am happy, I am better all around. A better mother, a better wife and a better friend. And to be honest, living through this pandemic has really weighed on me (like so many others) and I have had a much harder time creating happiness.

So, I started listing the things I could do to add happiness to my heart. And boy, most of them are small. Washing my face before bedtime proved to be absolutely amazing. As a mom of a toddler, that got pushed aside when he was born! When I do it though, it is a lovely closure to the day, a preparation for hopefully good rest, and the removal of the dirt from the day. What a small thing!

Shaving my legs is totally on my list. If we're being honest, it just isn't a priority, and thankfully my husband is amazing at just loving me every stage of the day :) So no pressure there. It really does feel lovely to do, though, so it's on my happy habit list. Here are more examples from my list:

• Walking outside

• gardening

• taking Oliver to the park

• reading with Oliver

• enjoying a whiskey soda

• cleaning the house

• working on our business

• studying for my next certification

• running

• time with my friends (I only really have 2 that I spend time with! You don't need many, just good solid ones!)

• playing cards with my husband

• cooking

• putting on mascara

• thrift shopping

• organizing

• making the house peaceful

• painting my nails

• putting lotion on my feet

So, then I break it down. If I am having a particularly hard day or am having trouble pulling myself out the of the muck, I try to find one or two of these things that I can do. It all depends on how much time I have, or how much energy I have. Lotioning my hands and feet is quick and easy, and Oliver likes to do it with me. So that's a good one. Enjoying a whiskey soda and playing cards with Mike takes a little more planning and depends on Oliver's disposition, so that might be a bit harder. Thrift shopping is so much fun, but also takes a little planning. Gardening is one of my all-time favorites, and Oliver enjoys the backyard time too - so it's a win win, but I will need the energy to dress us both, and then bathe him when we're done. That may sound like a typical parenting job (and I suppose it is) but if I'm having a hard day, and am sad or unmotivated, this might be too much.

That is why my list is helpful - I can choose based on where I'm at. And if brushing my teeth is all I've got, well then, I am going to brush them and be happier for it! The idea being, that a little happy habit, will give way to another one, and at best will change my day, and at the worst, help me survive the day with a little more joy.

So, what are your happy habits? There are no right and wrongs; though I will say some should come with limits (like my whiskey soda :) )

Today, I think we'll do something outside. The sunshine is ALWAYS an amazing healer. It has a way of warming up my heart and soul, and the time with Oliver outdoors is always so positive :)