Giving Thanks

I took some time today to reflect on some of my Thanksgiving blogs from the past and found the one from 2013, the Thanksgiving after my mom and Francine died.  So much of it is still true today. The people I am most grateful for are still a huge part of my life, but I have so many others in my life that I can now include. We still have my 101 year old grandma here with us and tonight, I will share Thanksgiving dinner, one of my favorite meals of the year, with her and many of my relatives, each of us cooking at home and bringing the food to her house to make it easy on her. Tonight there will be 16 of us around the table – a rather small gathering for us – but still a fun one!

I have been texting with friends all morning letting them know how grateful I am to have them in my life. We are sharing cooking tips and our similar thoughts on politics…knowing full well they will stay OUT of our conversations at dinner where so many of our family members have opposing opinions!

I am grateful to have DJ home from college, knowing that he is thriving on his own and creating his own friendships and relationships for which I know he is grateful for. I am grateful that Drew is finding his way as a freshman in high school. Never playing a game of football in his life, he found himself on the varsity football team at 5 feet tall and 95 pounds! That story is a blog in itself…for another time!

I am most grateful for Dave this year. He has been going through his own personal struggle with depression and with some health issues, and is finally on the road to recovery. He has found a new job and is so filled with life and energy. He is happy which makes for a much happier home. I couldn’t be more grateful to all of the people who have helped him get through this difficult time. He’s like a new person and for this, I am forever thankful.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you. Find reasons to be grateful not just today, but always.

A Reason to be Happy

Not only is today the first day of Spring, but it is also the 2nd Annual International Day of Happiness. A day that recognizes that happiness is a fundamental human goal, and calls upon countries to approach public policies in ways that improve the well being of all people.  I wonder if it is a coincidence that it falls on the first day of Spring because I know that after this long, cold, dreary winter, I am very happy – more than happy…ecstatic I might even say!

#Internationaldayofhappiness and #happyfirstdayofspring have been trending all day on Twitter.  I didn’t realize it was International Day of Happiness until I got home from work today and saw it on the news.  Yet…all day, I was happy!!  I know it was because of Spring.  It was only about 50 degrees but I went to school dressed in pink – very “springy” and refused to wear socks or boots just to say, “Haha winter!  We made it and now we are done with you!”  I am trying to ignore the forecasters who are predicting snow next week.  I am not going to ruin my happiness day with those thoughts!

Today, my day started off happy, not just waking up knowing it was Spring, but when one of my students greeted me with a beautiful purple plant and a card that read, “HAPPY SPRING MRS. SINCLAIR!”  Tonight Drew and I are making homemade pizzas for dinner making us both very happy and are in our pajamas before 6 pm even more reason to be happy!  I love happy days.  We should celebrate this day more than once a year!!

So…..what makes you happy??

Happy, Healthy & Successful…

Yesterday I wrote about how an act of kindness from a friend spurred me to do the same.

My friend Kim, who I randomly surprised, paid it forward today when she bought some mums for our friend Tammy and planted them in her yard.  Tammy has been overworked and overwhelmed lately and in our coaching group last night, we talked about how when we are stressed, even the littlest things can cause us to be more anxious.  For her, the “little thing” was the fact that she hadn’t gotten around to buy any mums for the front of her house!!  We all laughed about how trivial it might seem to some, but at the same time, we realized how we really let those little things start to fester and as they fester, they bring out more and more stress and sometimes that “little thing” doesn’t seem so little anymore.

We all know that these “little things” aren’t always going to affect our lives significantly but still they cause us anxiety.  We live in a fast paced world and sometimes it feels like we just can’t keep up.  Whether it is deadlines from work or family commitments, sometimes we just feel like we are struggling to hold our heads above water!  We all talked about NOT over committing ourselves.  We discussed time management and procrastinating.  Earlier that day, another friend of ours had posted something on his Facebook page that we all agreed to print out and read over.  It is called, 25 Habits of People Who Are Happy, Healthy & Successful.  It is a great list of habits that can keep us focused and on track as we strive to reach our goals.  How many of them are you already doing?  I think I am at 10… I’d like to get to 15 – BUT I am not going to stress over it!!

http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-9985/25-habits-of-people-who-are-happy-healthy-successful.html