To define “happiness” is impossible! Happiness means so many different things to everyone. As a parent, my definition of happiness has definitely changed over the years. More than anything, I am happiest when my girls are happy!
Our big way to achieve happiness is to live below our means. There are times when I am convinced that people must think our family is poor based on my couponing adventures. Admittedly I walk the line between embarrassed and proud when neighbors see our garage stockpile. The first time someone sees our modest supply of food and household essentials they are taken back and have a million questions. I never know what the neighbors say behind closed doors, but I secretly think that if there were ever a huge natural disaster that they would come running to our house for supplies.
We are happy because our only debt is our mortgage and student loans. It took years to pay off our debt, but we were able to free ourselves from it and it is so liberating! We enjoy spending considerably less than we make and saving money.
The girls are happiest when we are all together as a family. I know that they look forward to dinner time when we sit as a family of four and talk about our day and eat. I am so glad that we have started this routine as I am looking forward to at least 14 more years of dinners together. It is funny how food makes everyone in our house happy too. For my husband, I keep bananas and waffles on hand for breakfast, as well as Fiber One bars for snack. Our four-year-old loves asparagus (no lie!) and veggie corn dogs while our three-year-old is a fruit-a-holic. Keeping the house stocked with their favorite foods makes everyone happy.
We love getting out and doing free or cheap activities. We are slowly collecting all of the Little Critter and Berenstein Bear collections of books. Each month our library has a book sale and we love to go see what treasures we can find. For a quarter a book, I have such a hard time denying any books that my girls request. The sparkles in their eyes makes every book purchased and every word read worth it. After the park we like to go to the park and enjoy being outdoors.
I love when our house has harmony. The days when the girls get along and play together nicely are golden. Those are the days when praise is given in even larger doses.
For me, happiness is totally running! There is nothing better than getting out and pounding the pavement to melt away all stressors. Running outdoors is beautiful and watching the seasons change makes me feel like a kid again!
Happiness is a warm puppy, a popsicle from the ice cream truck, a $20 bill found tucked in an old jacket, a dinner full of your favorite foods, a phone call with a great grandparent, a shopping trip at the mall, a baby’s first steps, getting married, graduating college, a blued eyed baby, a brown eyed baby. Happiness is everywhere, everyday. Make your hour, day, life as happy as can be!
Disclaimer: I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Farm Rich blogging program, for a gift card worth $25. For more information on how you can participate, click here.
Jenn F says
I enjoyed reading this. 🙂