It’s the Little Things

Challenge Day 1:  10 Thing that Make me Happy

Like many others, I have found myself with a lot of time on my hands as this global health crisis plays out. Additionally, like many who live daily with mental illness – I have struggled to find motivation as I figure my way through all of my trigger responses to the uncertainty, powerlessness, and loss that I feel going through this. 

I decided a writing challenge sounded like a fun way to get myself into to the habit of writing as it would give me some prompts in the coming days to get the wheels turning again.  

However, I wanted to make sure the prompts were meaningful, reflective, and entertaining so – I came up with (and found) the following prompts that I plan to write from for the next 14 days. Here is the list I plan to use, feel free to join me and tag your posts in the comments for me to read!  

Today I will share with you 10 things (in no particular order) that make me happy. Before I get to my list I want to say that my children, my husband, friends, and extended family all make me happy, I feel like that is a given so they won’t be on this list as easy answers. Instead, I sat with my coffee and wrote a list of things in my everyday life that bring me moments of joy as they came to mind. 

Hopefully this helps you get to know me a little bit better. 

1. Writing. I Absolutely love writing, I always have. I have a story that I wrote as kid back in 1993 that is nearly 60 pages long. I’ve been journaling since I can remember, I have books of poetry from my teenage years. I have always aspired to be published. I did have my story publish in a book last year as part of a collection, called EMERGINGPROUD Through Trauma & Abuse (Pocketbooks of Hope). You can also find quite a bit of writing here on this blog. 

2. My adult son has begun seeing a counselor. This brings me joy every time I think about it. I have written here before about his and my struggles in the throes of our separate battles with mental illness.  That he has finally sought out help on his own is a sign that he is ready to begin healing. That he has figured it out so early on in his life brings me happiness. 

3. I work in Optics, and as much as I loathe the entitlement I sometimes see in retail customer service, there are a few customers who have brought me so much happiness – it is why I still do the work I do. Remembering them, thinking of the good memories I have of my job (I am currently laid off) has helped me through this time. 

4. I love SciFi. Whether it is Star Trek, Star Gate, Firefly, Farscape, Eureka, or Warehouse 13 (I know I missed a few) – I am always ready for a binge session.  

5. A couple years ago I discovered card making as a hobby. I’ve since collected quite the supply of crafting inventory. I use a die cutter, I use stamps, and I use scrape paper so the possibilities to my creativity are endless. Bonus: I have fund cards to send notes to my friends.

6. Music. Need I say more? Music is a mood changer for me. I use music as means of calming myself, of inspiring myself. I use music to set the mood for the task at hand. There is music to fit every aspect of life to make it better. 

7. This one might make you raise your eyebrows but – mowing the lawn makes me happy. And I have a push mower. However, my yard, while not small, isn’t huge so – mowing the lawn for me is a great way to get my body moving, find some Zen time in my head, and feel accomplished. 

8. Text messages from my cousins. Considering a few of us lost touch for over 20 years of our lives, anytime I see a message come through from one of them it brightens my day as we reconnect and get to know each other again.

9. The smell of lilac bushes makes me really happy. It is probably my favorite smell, and the flowers (purple being my favorite color) are so delicate and pretty. 

10. My games. I play a couple different games on my tablet in the morning/evening as a brainless way to tune out for a bit. Love them, they make me happy.  

There you have it. 10 random things that came to mind this morning that make me happy. Feel free to post your own blog as part of this challenge – or you can just comment about things that make you happy too.  

Tune in tomorrow – I will be writing about something I learned about myself from someone else, that I didn’t know. 

Catch up on other posts from this challenge here

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For more blog content visit my blog index, for more poetry visit my poetry collection page. 

I appreciate your tips! 

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Please stop by and check out the essential oils that I use for coping and the books that I reference for clarity and understanding as I learn to live with PTSD. 

Do you have a hobby? I make homemade cards as part of my self-care routine.