Happiness Happens: Reflecting on a Happy Month

Happy Times in August

I'm the kind of person who likes challenges and goals.  This year, I've been setting monthly challenges for myself and then at the end of the month, I reflect on what went well, what could have been better, and what I might want to change.

My goal for August was to blog daily with a theme of "Happiness Happens" in honor of Happiness Happens month. Last year, I was honored to interview the founder of Happiness Happens Month, Happiness Hero, Pamela Gail Johnson, for my podcast.

Having a daily blog post in which I wrote about something that made me happy each day, really made a difference in my overall mood. It was much like a daily gratitude journal, but it went a step above as I searched for words and pictures to describe these experiences. I became much more aware of my emotions and the things that would trigger those happy feelings.

Sure, the news constantly reminds us, very sad things are going on in our world and I don't want to minimize those. However, this daily practice really reminded me of the plethora of wonderful things in my life - simple things, that I often take for granted.. and big things, like the people I love who care about me.

I remember a day earlier this month when I had some personal disappointments.  I had 3 bad things in a row happen.. not big things, but big enough to make me feel moody and irritable.  Then I reminded myself about all my Happiness Happens moments that I'd been writing about. I stopped the downward spiral that was happening in my head and was able to turn it around.

I'd read a wonderful article by another Happiness Hero and "Joyful" author Ingrid Fetell Lee: The Power of Upward Spiral that describes this very phenomenon.

As I've learned by this practice of recognizing all the little things that bring me joy and happiness, that happiness starts with gratitude and mindfulness.  Even being mindful about things that bring negative emotions has been a positive experience.  I can think more deeply and ask myself, Why is this triggering me? Do I need to be angry? Do I need to be hurt?  Almost always, the answer is No..  I can let that go. 

There are times when I have to accept things that are out of my control. And there are times when I'm sad or worried or scared. I am so grateful that I have people in my life who will listen and help me process those emotions and maybe come up with some things that I can do to be less sad, worried, or scared.

In the "Could Have Been Better" category, I did not improve my blogging skills and only earned 1 cent on Adsense (still 44 cents away from getting my $100 payout after 15 years of blogging.)

However, as I browse over all my Happiness Happens posts for the month, capturing the precious moments and memories, the happiness I feel is absolutely priceless.

Happiness Happens: Uke Jamming at Superior Community Center

 

I've wanted to learn how to play the ukulele for awhile now. My friend, Cathy, is one of the musicians who played at yesterday's performance and she's been super generous about teaching me the basics and even loaning me one of her ukuleles.

When I saw that the new Superior Community Center (that's only a 10 minute walk from my house) had free Ukulele Jam sessions on Monday nights, I asked Cathy if she'd want to go, and she accepted the invitation.

I was a little timid about joining in, seeing as I'd had the equivalent of one lesson with no practicing, but the group was welcoming and it turns out I was able to strum those C chords like a pro!

Even though I know I have a long way to go before I'm able to play well, I had fun singing and playing with the group.  It's pretty easy to blend in with a big group and only play the single-finger chords.  And, just like yesterday, I realize that music is a huge mood booster!  How fun to be part of making that music!

Happiness Happens: Musician Friends Playing in the Park

 

One of my favorite things to do in the summer is to listen to live music in the park. Today was extra special because the people playing the live music were my friends!

That's right! Many of my friends are musicians! I'm in such awe of their talent. 

From noon until about 6pm today I enjoyed a beautiful day listening to a variety of music, mostly from the 70's, 80's,  but some more current and some original! The final song was Mustang Sally. Many of us sang along, dancing holding our umbrellas to shade us from the sun. 

How lucky for me that I was able to attend this great event with plenty of friends both in the audience and on stage! Pure joy!

Happiness Happens: Reneya's 1:1 Birthday Celebration

Earlier this month, I celebrated my grandson, Diego's birthday. Well, today it was my granddaughter, Reneya's turn. She's turning big double-digits 10 tomorrow!

I love having this one-on-one time with my beautiful granddaughter!

We started with lunch at Einstein Bagels, followed by a shopping spree at Flatirons Mall.

Reneya has this wonderful ability to get excited about just about anything! She loves trendy clothes, stylish shoes, sparkly accessories, furry stuffed animals, and dangly earrings.

We haven't really established the "rules" for this birthday extravaganza (other than that I'm treating, of course!) Reneya was concerned about prices and wanted to be sensitive about not picking out too many things.  She was trying to only pick clothes on clearance or items that weren't over-priced.

It was nice that she was so cost-conscious and fun for me to be able to just buy everything she wanted and not have to limit her.  

After we got back to her house, we had a Facebook Messenger video call with her Uncle Scotty and added the fun birthday filter.  It even let her blow the candles out! Technology's so cool!

Here's a little haiku that I was challenged to write in my Carpe Diem book:

Reneya turns ten
No longer a little girl
A beautiful tween

Happiness Happens: Great Scotts Eatery

 

Today my Happiness Happens experience was eating at Great Scotts Eatery in Broomfield with my friend, David.

I've seen the sign for Great Scotts for years and, of course, I always think of my son, Scotty! I can't believe he and I never went there ourselves, but it's definitely on my list to do with him next time he's home for a visit.

The restaurant has a cool, retro vibe, with lots of decor of juke boxes, 50's icons, and soda fountains. The menu had a big variety of options from the classic burgers to healthy soups and salads. 

The music that was playing fit with the theme..  rock-a-billy! I was ready for a sock hop!

Now I know where to go next time I want to Rock around the Clock: Great Scotts!

Happiness Happens: Celebrating Birthdays and 1/2 Birthdays

Michael doing Kilroy impression

 

August 26 is a big day! It's my half-birthday! It's also my friend Michael's full birthday! That's him, up top, doing a Kilroy (not to be confused with Kiljoy) impression.

When I first met Michael, he didn't even like to celebrate birthdays! Can you believe it? What a travesty! However, it turns out he's a master at celebrating MY birthday! 

For the past few years, I've gotten spoiled by all the fun gifts and attention I've gotten from Michael. I finally was able to talk him into letting me celebrate HIS birthday by reminding him that it's my 1/2 birthday!

Besides giving him less than half the gifts with less than half the value that he gives me, I also do a half-bad-a$$ job of giving him birthday attention.

One shout-out I have to give is to Blue Mountain for their creative eCards! You can customize many of their eCards in a variety of fun ways. Here's the Talking Mona Lisa card I sent to Michael this morning and he replied that it was the coolest eCard he'd ever received.

One other reason today stands out? It's the day my Dad died 11 years ago.  I'm glad that rather than feeling sad, I can be celebrating life, memories, and all the many ways that happiness happens.

Happiness Happens: Getting a Colonoscopy

 

Even though getting a colonoscopy isn't exactly something I look forward to, I'm very grateful that we live in an age where doctors can detect colon cancer early or prevent it altogether.

My Dad had colon cancer, so I'm at a higher risk.  However, my Dad never got a colonoscopy (until it was too late) or really did well-checks of any kind.  That was just the way he was.  He died in 2010 at the age of 75, but if he'd had regular check ups, he'd probably still be alive today.

This month I've been doing all my routine health check ups. I especially was not thrilled with the "prep" part of the colonoscopy.  But if I think about it, it's not that different from a high-priced spa cleanse and the procedure itself is no big deal.  

The doctor did find and remove a couple of polyps. They still have to do some lab work to find out if they were pre-cancerous, but..  whatever they were, they're now out, so I don't have to worry about suffering from colon cancer myself.

Today I'm grateful for the advancements in medicine and that I have the ability to keep my colon clean!

Happiness Happens: A Surprise Flamingo in the Mail

 

I love surprises! I love getting mail! I love flamingos! So can you imagine how much I loved getting a surprise flamingo in the mail today? It was a triple love happiness happens moment!

To add even more to the happy love-fest, the surprise was from none other than the Duchess M'DLee , my wonderful Carpe Diem MVP!

How sweet and unexpected to get this surprise in the mail today.  It's rare to get anything but junk mail or bills and it's no where near my birthday.  Actually, my 1/2 birthday IS coming up on Thursday so we're about as far from my birthday as we can get.  (I had been thinking of celebrating my 1/2 birthday since it's in the summer..   Let's just face it.  I'm good with celebrating my birthday on any day.)

But the lovely Duchess sent this not because it was my 1/2 birthday, but simply because she was thinking of me and knew I liked flamingos.  

I'm so grateful for my sweet Carpe Diem M'DLee.  We've never even met in person, yet she takes the trouble to send me this whimsical gift! What a thoughtful new friend she is!

I've been thinking that these little Happiness Happens posts would give me nice little reminders of ways I can create happiness for myself whenever I'm down.  

Even though I can't predict or control getting a surprise flamingo in the mail, I can send one to someone else..  Now I just have to figure out who else loves flamingos!

Happiness Happens: A Massage from Coco of Healthy Healing Hands

 

"Relax, Release, Refresh, Rejuvenate" say the plaques that hang on the wall at Healthy Healing Hands, where I got my massage this afternoon.

I thought this would be a better picture than one of me laying with my face down on the massage table. It also would have been really awkward to ask Coco to snap a picture..  but believe me, happiness was happening!

Coco has amazing skills as a massage therapist. I've had a lot of massages over the years and it's hard to find someone who knows just the right amount of pressure and where to apply it.  Coco has a good understanding of my physiology and the unique challenges I have.  I always feel so relaxed as she's working her magic!

I started getting regular massages a couple of years ago because of my back problems. I also tried Physical Therapy and saw a chiropractor. They all had various opinions and exercises that felt pretty ineffective.  Getting massages was the only therapy that I really looked forward to every month because I could really feel a difference.

Well, my back has been doing a lot better and rarely hurts these days! Now I don't get a massage because my back hurts..  I go because I love the soothing feeling and I want to keep my back and body healthy, thanks to Coco's healing hands!

Happiness Happens: A Good Sleep

Ah! I just love it when I wake up in the morning after a full night of good sleep! This sleeping lady cross-stitch that my Mom made is one of the first things I see when I wake up and it's just like looking in the mirror! (Until I look in the real mirror.)

I've discovered that sleep is one of the what I'm labeling "Big 5" (Sleep, Food, Exercise, Learn, Socialize) keys to a healthy brain.

I feel pretty good about the other 4, but my history of insomnia has created a bit of an "uh oh - I better improve my sleep" feeling.  

Since I haven't been working, my sleep has improved quite a bit.  It's so nice to not need an alarm clock any more or have all the stress that comes along with work and trying to fit too much into every day.

I even discovered this nifty free function on my Fitbit that has months worth of data with details about my sleep quality.

Last night's sleep got a sleep score of 80, which is labeled as "Good" with:

• Wakefulness: 13% or 1h 9m
• REM: 22% or 1h 54m
• Light Sleep: 53% or 4h 39m
• Deep Sleep: 12% or 1h 4m

Even though there's a lot of room for improvement here, it is better than my usual tossing-and-turning can't-get-back-to-sleep wakefulness that I often struggle with around 2am.  And if I feel this good with a sleep score of 80, just imagine how refreshed I'd feel with a score in the 90's!

Unfortunately, sleep is a lot harder for me to control than any of the other things on the Big 5 list. Often the more I try to sleep, the more difficulty I have with it.

However, over the years, I have discovered some techniques that seem to be helping.

The biggest culprit for me is my overactive brain. I have always been one who "overthinks"..  Instead of just making a decision about something, I want to consider every angle and then I worry about risks or reactions or I think about all the research I might want to do before making a decision.

I suppose that's why they say meditation (and focusing on breath rather than thinking) is so good for your brain.  Like sleep, it is giving your brain a chance to rest and rejuvenate.  

Too bad not thinking is so boring for me.  But nice that I'm getting a little better at it and improving my sleep!