Tag Archives: laughter

happiness

Buns and Yorkshire Pudding 

Today was my uncle’s birthday. He’s one of my favourite people in the world, and has always been a second dad to me. 

They had a big birthday supper for him followed by a showing of Forsaken which was filmed out at the movie site. Very cool. 

My happiness moment was standing in the kitchen with my cousins laughing and eating. We had plates piled high with fresh buns and Yorkshire pudding filled with gravy. We’d gobble it all down, complain about how fat we were getting, laugh, head back for seconds, then laugh some more. 

  
To be with these people who I am so close to, who have known me forever, and whose company I enjoy so much is a great joy in my life.  

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At the long table

The kids and I spent may years where it was just the three of us sitting at our little round table. Those lonely years spent away have made us all the more appreciative of our family and the shared times that we have now that we are back among our tribe.

Today we spent time with my relatives from the “east side” of town. My cousin’s granddaughter was in a skating competition and it was my aunt’s birthday, and the kids and I joined them in the celebration. I had forgotten how much I enjoy watching figure skating, it’s so beautiful and graceful. We went for lunch to celebrate my aunt’s birthday and there were enough of us (15) that we were seated at a huge, long table at the back of the room. I have so missed family meals that involve sitting at a long table full of laughter and conversation. I feel like in the last year we have been well absorbed back into that lifestyle. We got to do it again tonight at my mom’s place with my sister and family (only 8 of us this time though).

My happiness moment today was catching up with my cousins and aunt and uncle. One of the great things about family is that they always know who you are even during the times when you are apart. It has been such a blessing to reconnect with this tribe.

A bonus happiness moment came yesterday when Gretchen Rubin made a comment on my blog post about happiness done Ayurveda style which I had put on her Facebook page. That post really brought back into focus for me how important it is to keep on doing what I am doing. I can feel all the good vibes coming back to me.

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Raindrops and Lasagne

After having a rather rough start to the day (there’s nothing quite like having those intuitions confirmed), the kids and I were treated to an amazing and loving evening provided by my cousin.

She started by giving us all a raindrop massage. If you’ve never had one, I highly recommend this blissful essential oil experience. After spa time, she fed us her homemade lasagne (which is a family favourite) and we sat and shared stories and laughed.

Having these blessed family moments is what it is all about. We spent so long floating around, isolated little bubbles. It’s so good for the soul to be back around our tribe and people who truly care for and love us, and whom we love and trust. What a happiness moment.

As a bonus happiness moment, I spent some time today telling my story. I have decided not to post it right now, but I am no longer afraid to tell it. You see, I realized that I am no longer stuck in an abusive relationship, I no longer have to not tell my story. There is a lot of freedom and relief that comes with that realization.

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Monopoly and laughter 

I walked in to the kitchen at my mom’s house today to find her sitting at the table planing an intense game of monopoly with Jenna. Jenna is very good (and very competitive) at games, so playing with her is always lots of fun and very challenging. 

I cooked us all supper and we spent the evening sharing stories and laughing. It felt so good to do in that kitchen that is the centre of the home of my heart. 

It was so nice to have us all shed some of the stresses we have been carrying and just give into the laughter and the enjoyment of each other’s company. A delightful happiness moment. 

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If you’re going through hell keep on going…

There’s a lot to that old saying laughter is the best medicine. We have been in desperate need of some good belly laughs these past few days.  To say that life is a little intense right now is a huge understatement.

Because things always come to me as I need them, I listened to a song last night that reminded me of the angels (literal and figurative) that I have in my life. If You’re Going Through Hell will be my pick up song for the time being. 

But the good news is there’s angels everywhere out on the street

Holding out a hand to pull you back upon your feet

The ones that you been dragging for so long you’re on your knees

You might as well be free

Its so easy to get focused on the person or thing that is pushing me down, but so much more importantly are those angels who are loving us and helping us up out of the darkness. They have held out their hands and their hearts and are keeping the kids and I in this safe basket of love while we get through this part. Freedom is something I have prayed for for a long time. From now on I know that when the opportunity comes to free my soul I will always take it. And some great advice to all of us as we go through dark times…

If you’re going through hell keep on going

Don’t slow down, if you’re scared, don’t show it

You might get out before the devil even knows you’re there. 


Today we decided we needed a family fun day. Each child brought a friend and we are up in Canmore at the swimming pool (a very cool pool with slides and a lazy river and basketball nets). Laughing with this group of kids all afternoon has been not a only a great happiness moment, but a happiness refocus, as we remember what is important.  Elizabeth Gilbert hit it nail on the head – what is important is to eat, pray, love. I am so thankful that I am on this journey with these amazing humans – my kids, my family, my friends. 

  

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Less anger, more laughter 

The kids and I stopped for a cup of tea today while doing our errands in town. Our cups came with these life lessons on them: 
There’s a lot about the situation we are in right now that we can’t change. But a lot of these tips for good health are totally within our control. We decided to focus on the last one less anger, more laughter. 

We realized that we needed more laughter to help pull us into a better place. With that in mind we got in the car and began our drive home. We had a couple of stops, so it took us about an hour. During that time we told jokes, acted silly, and laughed until our tummies hurt. You can’t be angry and laugh at the same time. 

I am so impressed by these two. They are brave and strong and so full of love. Silly laughter, a blessed happiness moment. 

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And so we roar 

You know when you’re just sitting on the couch and all of a sudden you get into a roaring match with your cousin beside you? No? Maybe you have to be a two or fourteen year old boy.  

 
But, if you want to know what happiness sounds like, sit near these boys during one of their roar matches. Their happiness is so intense it is contagious. 

I love when happiness spontaneously bursts out of people. You can almost see it flow to everyone around. Heartfelt, innocent, love filled, happiness. We are blessed to have these two guys in our lives. 

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The last day…

Typically this weekend is a sad one. We are usually heading to the airport, crying, and saying goodbye to family. Sometimes we are lucky and a winter storm in Chicago or the East Coast cancels flights and we get to have an extra day or so. But, our hearts always know there is a sad goodbye coming.

This year we don’t have to go anywhere but down the road to our home. We have spent a lot of time this weekend talking about how nice it is to be here to stay and not have all that emotional upset of having to say goodbye to everyone.

I’ve been going over some blog posts from the beginning of this year and what really hits me is how brutally lonely we were back then. I am so grateful that we don’t have to be so alone anymore. Whatever other turmoil the past year brought us, I am thankful that we are back home.

We took the kids out for one last run on the sleds before we are back to the grind tomorrow. I think they had fun….


Hearing the laughter as they flew past me howling in joy was my happiness moment for the day. What a great start to the year. I have felt very held in love by those around us these past few days. It’s so easy to get caught up in negative thoughts, it has been very good to remember that there are loving, kind, fun people to share laughter and life with.

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Pay it forward (West Jet Christmas)

Today we got to prove the fact that it is actually better to give than it is to receive (although it was pretty awesome to receive as well). Jacob and I made our morning run to Tim Horton’s and fell into a delightful and unexpected happiness moment. First of all, a kind gentleman came up and held the door for us to go in (this happens a lot here, the customers have great manners). Then when we went to the till and two ladies came running up, barely able to contain themselves with their giggles, and announced that they were buying our coffee for us.

It’s West Jet’s mini-miracles day and they were doing their part to pay it forward. They jumped around, huge smiles on their faces, as they explained what they were doing and we took a group selfie so they could post it on Instagram.

When Jacob got his coffee and we sat down we could still hear them at their table giggling away and trying to upload the picture with all the right tags. I said to Jacob that even though we had thoroughly appreciated their kindness, it really seemed that they had received a lot more from their gift than we had. He looked over at them with their heads together laughing as they talked about what they had done and agreed with me.

As we were getting ready to go a lady walked into Tim’s and I said to Jacob that he should go buy her coffee. He grabbed my money and ran over to her as she stood at the till. I couldn’t hear them, but I saw him jumping up and down with excitement (just like the ladies before had done with us) and I saw a huge smile come across the lady’s face. Jacob said afterwards that she had said to him that he had made her whole day.

All the way to Jacob’s school he smiled and bounced and talked about how wonderful he felt having done something nice for someone else.

He had both received an act of kindness and given one within a half hour. He was thrilled to have been given the free coffee, it made his soul sing to have given one to someone else.

Both giving and getting are pretty sweet, but the feeling is euphoric when you  surprise someone by doing a small kind act for them. It may sound cliche, but happiness really is contagious and it is easy to spread.

If you can, make someone happy today by performing a small act of kindness. It makes for an awesome happiness moment.

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Mary’s Boy Child

I’m finding this Christmas season a confusing one emotionally. I keep looking around for Dad to do my getting ready for the season things with and then remembering that he’s not here. I miss him so much I am left with a sad tinny like taste in my mouth. How can it be that he’s gone?  Then on the other hand,  I’m so happy that for the first time since 2004 I’m either not coming home for the holidays and pretending to be ok with that, or packing up all our presents and fly home as soon as the kids are done school (lots of work).  We would decorate our house, but not get to fully enjoy it, and by the time we arrived home there would be only a few days before Christmas so we were behind the game there too.

So, I’m so happy that we are here, settled in one place for the holiday season. We have more things to decorate than we have time for. The kids and I can bake cookies and make hot cocoa whenever we want. I found the recipe by the girls who own Crave Cupcakes for their shortbread cookies (the article includes an interesting story on how they became Crave) and we made cookies tonight. They are supposed to be for Jenna’s school tomorrow, but we may have eaten enough of them I’ll have to make another batch. Totally worth it though, they were melt in your mouth delicious. It’s a great recipe!

I have had my Christmas Carol playlist going for about a week now, but somehow I forgot all about Mary’s Boy Child, it’s one of my favourites. It came on the radio today and when I got home I had to pull out all three of my versions: the Anne Murray one (which reminds me of childhood and home and good feelings), the Boney M one (which is the one I always heard on the radio) and one that was on a kid’s mixed cd. We sang the carol over and over and ate too many cookies.

My happiness moment was an evening of cookies, carols, and then a cuddle with my girl while we watched a bit of Home Alone.

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