The Science of Happiness

Check out this cool video about the science of happiness. It's a Ted Talk. If you've never watched a Ted Talk Video, you're in for a fun way to learn. I really enjoy the Ted Talks, and the whole idea of spreading ideas and information in such a neat format.




What do you like to learn about?

Be the Memory Keeper

One of the things that makes me and my family happiest is sharing happy memories together. So, as a part of my happiness project, I've made a resolution to try to be the storekeeper of happy memories for my family. I've started lots of little projects to work toward this resolution--a scrapbook for Flannery, a family tree record for both sides of our family, and more recently, I've been trying to make a DVD for the grandmothers of all the videos we have of Flannery's life so far. This weekend, as Mothers' Day is fast approaching, I've spent a ton of time on the video project, and I actually finished it! I now have a finished product--a DVD with 4 chapters (from infant to 3 year old). It's not perfect, but it's done! My husband, daughter, and I watched it today. It's really adorable. Flanna screamed and laughed and fell off the couch a few hundred times as we were watching it. I guess it was a hit!

One of my favorite times from our Easter family get-togethers was playing the piano with Flanna and Robi's mom (see the photo above!) But a really close second was when Robi's dad and aunt told some stories about Robi's extended family. I was so glad to hear some of these stories, and couldn't believe that Robi's cousins hadn't heard the stories, either. Good thing we sat around sharing memories that day!

Here's one of the doozies: Robi's aunt told the story that his great-grandma Lula had just had her first daughter, and the baby was around 3 months old when they had to move to another house. So, they packed up an old truck with all of their things, and they sat in the front of the truck. On the way to the new house, the truck hit a huge bump, and Lula was thrown out and was run over by the truck. (I guess this was before seat-belts!) The baby was fine somehow, but Lula had broken ribs, & some other injuries, and was taken to the hospital. She stayed there for many months, unable to walk or to take care of her baby. A doctor at the hospital actually asked Lula if he and his wife (who were unable to have kids) could adopt her baby. Lula seriously considered it, because she was in such bad shape, but ultimately, she refused. (I guess family helped take care of the baby during this time?) Anyway, after a few months, Lula was laying in bed, and she "saw" some tiny angels dance from the open hospital window to the foot of her hospital bed. They circled around her dancing for a few minutes, and then went back out the window. At that point, she decided that she was going to try to get up and walk, and she did. She went back home soon after and took care of her baby, and also had other children after that (doctors had told her she wouldn't be able to have more children because of the accident). She heard years later that the doctor who had asked to adopt her baby had committed suicide. She was so glad she hadn't subjected her baby to a "better" life that would actually end in tragedy.

Crazy stuff, huh?



What cool stories from your family do you just love?

Take Care of the Moments

"If we take care of the moments, the years will take care of themselves." --Maria Edgeworth, O Magazine, April 2004

I'm still on vacation! Lucky me! And I've really been soaking in the moments! There have been some pretty amazing little moments, too, like:

Flying kites on the beach (amazingly, it actually worked!)
Sorting through stuff at my parents' house that they were getting rid of, and finding some really cool treasures!
Lying in the sun for a few minutes while my family and friends gave me a little break and watched my daughter!
Looking at old videos of the girls from when they were tiny.
Watching my mom collect sea shells on the beach with her granddaughters.
Having the time to play Hullaballoo with the girlies, and discovering I really love that game!

I'm so thankful for this brief time with my family. Living so far away from my parents, sister, and niece, is one of the things I really wish I could change in my life. And it's been so nice to have time enough together with them to get on one another's nerves! I'm so jealous of those families that get to annoy one another on a daily or weekly basis! I really want that! (I'm not kidding!)



How are you taking care of the moments when you're with the ones you love?