Skip to main content

My Everyday Happy List



Small Good Things Add Up Too

Sometimes the big stuff feels like too much — the to-do lists, the worries, the things we can’t control or even name. On those days, I call my mom. Because sometimes, all we really need is our mom. She’d tell me to stop, get up, and walk around the house touching the things I’m grateful for, one by one. I mostly roll my eyes or feel resistance rise in me, but it helped more than I care to admit. So today, I’m doing just that. I’m pressing pause on the noise and focusing on what’s holding me together — the little joys that matter more than they let on. Because if small bad things can pile up and snowball into a really hard day, then maybe the small good things can too.

So this week, I’m holding onto:

  1. The sound of my boys laughing — that wild, full-bellied kind of laugh that bounces off the walls and somehow makes the chaos feel like home.

  2. Our growing garden! — I just planted pumpkins a few days ago and they’re already sprouting! I have no idea what I’m doing, but I absolutely love it.

  3. The summer thunderstorms — the pounding of the rain, the way it cuts through the awful summer heat, and how everything feels just a little easier when the air finally cools down.

  4. Reading — because it really does bring me joy. It quiets the running thoughts and hushes the stress just enough to breathe.

  5. My boys’ drawings — especially Jeremiah, who has taken such a sweet interest in being a little artist. Their creativity is pure magic.

  6. Chickens being weird — especially Petey, our only rooster, who’s totally stolen my heart. He actually likes my cuddles and comes to me — which just makes him my favorite. And of course, the girlies are doing their own thing, loving their space and the new toys they got this week like it’s the best gift ever.

  7. My husband making me laugh when I didn’t feel like smiling — the kind of laughter that sneaks up and reminds me I’m not alone in any of this.

Nothing fancy. Nothing huge. Just the everyday kind of magic that holds me up when I didn’t know I needed holding.

What are your pocket-sized joys this week? I’d love to hear them.



Comments

Popular posts from this blog

You are not alone

There's been an unknown heaviness on my heart these past couple days I've struggled with and all it took was a simple kind gesture of a friend to gift me a beautiful cookie as a reminder of the baby I lost in pregnancy, not once but twice. It struck me in that moment just what I've been struggling with all week.  I'm not even sure my friend knew exactly what this would have meant to me, that the timing of her gift would hit me so hard, but I spent the next 30 minutes bawling alone in my car. I'm sitting here this morning sharing this cookie with my boys, remembering the babies I've lost, thinking of the newborn I would be holding in my arms this very moment if God had planned it otherwise.  I think it's particularly hard this week because exactly a year ago today I sat by this same old fireplace on a Monday morning watching my two year old and three year old run around playing and screaming, asking myself if this was really possible, could I be pregnant agai...

Pumpkin Patch

A chilly, gloomy day turned out to be a perfect day for the pumpkin patch though the pumpkin patch itself was not so perfect. But we enjoyed our walk through the Christmas trees after realizing the pumpkins were all nearly rotten and smashed out in the field. But the funny thing is, that didn't matter because this is still one of my best memories with some of my favorite people.  This happened in the midst of Covid-19 and we didn't let that stop us from doing the things we wanted to. The boys had so much fun with their mama and aunty out in the muddy field and riding around on a tracker. Though in most of the pictures Jeremiah's face would have you thinking otherwise, I promise it's true. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and at the end of the trip the boys found two small pumpkins inside the shop to take home and paint.   I am blessed with this family and never want to take it for granted. My boys are beyond luck to have someone who loves them as much as their mama and a...

When Goodbye Hurts

There’s a moment that splits your life into two parts—before and after. For me, that moment was losing my father-in-law, Dwayne. He wasn’t just family by marriage; he felt like a second dad. He made you feel welcome and loved, always ready with a smile or a joke. He was full of joy and laughter, so much like Josh. And now, as time goes on, I see more and more of Dwayne in him. When I met Dwayne, his family had already come close to losing him once. I never knew the version of him before that moment. I only ever knew the man who had been given a second chance and chose not to take it for granted. He understood that God had spared him, and he didn’t waste that gift. He embraced every day with gratitude and lightness. He bought the truck he had always wanted. He spent every spare moment with his family. He laughed loudly, hugged tightly, and lived fully. Looking back, I can say without hesitation that Dwayne lived his best life. But his death still came out of nowhere. He was young. It wa...