When you enjoy the little things in life, you feel happier. It sounds simple, and it is. You know what I’m talking about: the little things like appreciating a blue sky after a few days of rain, walking around comfortably in above zero temperatures after weeks of freezing weather, and engaging in a pleasant 15 minute conversation with your teen.
In today’s busy world, I feel like I’m always on the go and that I don’t have a second to myself. Well, in the last few days, I’ve enjoyed a lot of little things that have made me happy, despite running around and overscheduling my time. Perhaps inspired by the little notebook I picked up from the dollar store recently or perhaps inspired by mindfully appreciating every moment I have with friends and family, I thought I would share the simple things that brought me joy over a 24 hour period.
Here are the little things that made me happy over the course of a day:
- A 15 minute ride to school intelligently discussing Ontario’s ‘All Families Are Equal Act‘ legislation with the kids
- Three quick phone calls to have some expired coupons replaced, one of which included making the CSR laugh when I told her I was cleaning out my purse à la Golden Girls
- Receiving a text from my mom with an image and religious thoughts in Arabic about the start of the Lenten season this week. I love being reminded about how different parts of the world celebrate religious traditions
- Admiring my clean dining room table and foyer, which is a rare occurrence as both become the mud room sometimes
- Watching my youngest daughter play her badminton game while talking about The Real Housewives of Melbourne with our Australian exchange student
- Having 30 minutes, uninterrupted, to talk to my husband about his day and news, on the way to picking up takeout
- Getting said takeout because it made the dinner clean up minimal
- Enjoying a heated, but fun, conversation about Kylie Jenner and the rights of women. If you have teens, you’ll appreciate how happy I am that this conversation didn’t go crazy
- Texting with a new blogger friend about our accounts, blogging in general, and social media tips
- Receiving a text that my brother would be in New York earlier than I thought
- Talking to my brother when he landed with a clear as day connection on WhatsApp, in my time zone
- Enjoying my innovation on chocolate oatmeal cookies, which consisted of adding toffee bits and butterscotch chips to the already delicious recipe
- Discovering that my husband and I have 6 more unwatched episodes of season 6 of Suits
- Learning the origin of a new word from our most recent Netflix binge-worthy show, Fauda
- Browsing through spring fashion catalogs – in hard copy
- Catching up with my friend on the phone, the most old school and therapeutic thing, ever
There you have it: mundane, everyday happenings, that, when mindfully enjoyed, made me appreciate the joy in life’s little things. Note that most of them are completely free!
What about you, what have you done recently to enjoy the little things in life?
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