Last year I took up the challenge from Naomi from Seven Cherubs to write a sentence a day that records something that makes you happy and grateful for all you have. This year Naomi is putting out the challenge again and has called it Happy Days in May.
There are days when we don’t have to look far for a happy moment or find something that made us laugh or smile. The sun was shining, the kids didn’t fight, you partied with friends or your team won the game. But other days the moments are a little less obvious. It is these days that make this challenge so rewarding. It forces us to look a little harder for the moments that we need to be grateful for. It may be a coffee you drank before it got cold, an arrival in the post that wasn’t a bill, or it may simply be that you didn’t burn the dinner . No matter how big or seemingly small, we need to recognise all the moments that go into our lives to bring us joy.
This year I am again putting my kids to the challenge as well. I am going to ask them to give me a sentence each night of something that happened to them during the day that made them smile, laugh, feel good about themselves or someone else. Or maybe they could just recall something that they are grateful for or an item they are happy to own. I may ask for a little more creativity from the boys this year, as whilst I understand that playing footy and riding on their scooters are great fun activities, we may need to stretch their imaginations just a little. It is a great way for kids, and ourselves to go to bed with positive thoughts, a silver lining or a glimmer of hope. Rather than trying to keep a journal or diary which I have never been able to succeed at for any extended period, I have also found that this is a great way to record lifes little moments whilst taking only a minute or two each night.
I would love for others to have a go and try it with your kids as well. For an example of last years challenge you can check out my Happiness Project from 2011.
Remember , its just one sentence, every night.
So best wishes to all for many Happy Days in May.
This Post Has 15 Comments
This is such a wonderful idea. I love that you are extending it to your kids too. When I pick my girls up from school I often ask them what their favourite part of their day was. Rachel x
Thanks Rachel. It is good to ask specific questions like that, especially after school. It seems to be more successful than simply asking ‘how was your day?”.
I love this idea! Every night we say what we are thankful for, but I think writing it all down would be a great thing to do with the kids.
Today I’m happy that my little man was so well behaved when he had to have the cut on his head glued together.
Thanks Jess. The nice thing about writing it down is having a little journal of happy thoughts too. Something they may like to pick up and read when they aren’t feeling so great. 🙂
What a lovely idea, I am def going to do this with my 2 daughters. Thanks for a great post 🙂
Thanks, I am so glad you will be giving it a go. Would love to hear how they like it. (By the way just checked our some of your recipes…they look great!) 🙂
A very nice idea. It teaches us to appreciate the small things in life for they are actually the ones that matter.
Only a sentence a night makes it easier to stick with. I like this a lot.
Thanks Veronica. And yes making it easy certainly helps keep it on track 🙂
Its a nice and beautiful idea .. not much people think alike but its nice to see such thinking ..
Thanks for sharing ..
its a great idea i’d say … Thanks for that ..
For the last 2 weeks we have been incorporating this into our bedtime routine in an attempt to help one of our kids focus on the good things in life. Even in such a short time I’ve noticed a lot more pep in her step. It’s been such a simple but effective tool. Not only is this teaching us to be grateful but I’ve read that doing this for about a month can actually turn a pessimist into an optimist! Fingers crossed!!
I’ve found the simplist gifts are usually the most effective. They usually create a much better first impression and the recipient can enjoy the gift much more. The more that is added to the gift, the more complicated it can become and the notion behind giving it can be lost
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