So this weekend was super busy. I needed a nap from the nap I didn’t take type of weekend. However with all of the moving parts of the weekend, the one thing that stood out to me was my daughter. We went to my husband’s basketball game and I was cheering him on. She says oh mommy I am happy cause you are happy. I felt like time stopped. Reality of what she said hit me hard.
I asked her why she said that. Her response was so child like in that I looked tired. What she didn’t know was the last few mornings I had been up at 530am to run. I ran 5 miles on Saturday and 3 miles on Sunday. She was sleep both mornings so when she woke up I was home. I really was tired. I was exhausted and really on fumes. However her perception to me being tired was correlated to happiness. Anyone who knows my daughter knows that she is one of the happiest people on the planet and she’s like that all the time. I didn’t want her to feel as if her happiness needed to be tied to my reaction.
When we got home she said it again. I asked her how would she be if I never smiled or showed happiness. Would she continue to be her happy self? She hesitated. I explained to her that happiness is a daily and sometimes moment by moment choice. I also explained that her happiness should come from the inside out. That let me know that even if I never spoke to her about happiness she is watching. How I take care of myself and how I move around her is important. Today is Act Happy Day. It’s important to understand that life won’t always be the way we want, but we can control our responses. We can make or break the part of life where we push through. Life sucks sometimes. I want to mirror realness to my children but I also don’t ever want to walk around allowing the bitterness of life to over take my smile.
Don’t worry I definitely explained that happiness isn’t in a smile alone to my daughter. She just happens to have a great smile and it always encourages me to be light! It’s easy for a child to be content when you have all that you need. I know that as an adult, life happens. I know that life has dealth a few bad hands. However having a calm in my heart and joy in my life will make it a bit easier to mirror true happiness to those around me including my daughter.
Happiness is a choice and it’s also something that happens with effort! It happens when you decide that regardless of life kicking your butt that negativity is only temporary.
So how do you mirror happiness to yourself? When is the last time you smiled? Do you show up for yourself daily!
