Happy: day 30

Well, I really like the Happy Moment thing. I told my husband about it when I started. I said that, in a few years, when our daughter is old enough to look back on her day and talk about it, I'd like to incorporate this into our bedtime routine; sharing the day's Happy Moment (maybe we'll find a cooler name for it). He liked the idea and said we should make it a family tradition.

Okay, beyond "I liked it," here is what I've found through this exercise: Some days, I find myself wondering if a particular thing I'm doing will be my happy moment for the day. When I do that, I think I'm touching the edges of mindfulness. I slow down and try to enjoy the thing even more. Sometimes, though, that doesn't work, and even when I try to think about what I'm doing, I can't help thinking about the next thing I have to do. I catch myself wondering when the laundry will be done or how long it will take for the baby to fall asleep. And then, there are days that I don't even think about Happiness at all. But, no matter which kind of day it was, I have always been able to pinpoint a Happy Moment by the end.

I've been journaling for my daughter for over a year, since we found out we'd be having a baby. For the past 10 days, I've been recording my Happy Moments in her journal. I will continue to do that, even after the Happy month is ended. But, for you, here are my happy moments of the last 10 days:

Day 21: you already know -- attention for my baby's cuteness in the Starbucks.
Day 22: taking my baby outside to explore the feel of trees and leaves and bushes and grass.
Day 23: getting a long nap after several restless nights (she's got a cold).
Day 24: my baby, sitting on my lap, thoroughly enthralled with playing with my fingers.
Day 25: signing up for a knitting class and buying yarn for it at All About Yarn.
Day 26: buying more yarn at Joann's for a baby sweater (I bought a pattern book at All About Yarn.).
Day 27: After dinner was all cleaned up, I had the baby sitting with me on the floor while I started knitting her sweater. Her daddy had iTunes playing and was reading a book.
Day 28:Getting out of the house and going to Panera Bread for dinner and Borders to buy some books. We were really proud of ourselves for taking the baby out for a few hours, until we got home and I realized that I'd totally forgotten about feeding her rice cereal. Oops!
Day 29: I remembered the cereal! She was so cute and smart! I gave her an empty bowl to play with and she moved it from hand to hand, banged it on the highchair tray, dangled it over the side, and even figured out how to flip it over when it ended up upside down.
Day 30: Another nap on the couch with my baby!

Thus concludes my exercise in Happiness. Overall, I think it was a success, even though I still don't think people would look at me and say, "She's a happy person" yet. Yet.