30-DAY WRITING CHALLENGE | 1 September 2022

My 20 Reasons to Smile

It all starts with gratitude

Photo by Mark Daynes on Unsplash

Life was simple in my childhood. Young, happy and carefree, smiling went hand in hand with adventure. From curling up with a good book to giggling over the adventures of the Muppets, I never lacked a reason to keep on smiling.

While growing up, daily stress has a way of jading your perspective. It sometimes takes lots of determination to find those happy places again. For me, it is the moments of treasured memories that are my favourite blessings.

They include:

1. Spending time with my kids when they were younger, playing with Play Doh at the kitchen table.
2. Going on coffee or lunch dates with my now teenagers.
3. Going on drives with my husband.
4. Walking along the water’s edge, watching the ducks, swans, and geese with newly hatched babies.
5. Exploring Turtle Pond with my kids and counting how many turtles we could find.
6. Catching frogs with my kids. My favourite memory was my daughter catching a little frog. She was lying in her bunk with the little frog just sitting on her chest. I don’t know why it was not jumping away, but as she watched a movie on my portable DVD…