"I scream, you scream"

Christopher Poost
photos

We all screem for ice cream.

Or maybe for Italian ices, gelatos, sorbets, sherberts, sno-cones, Hawaiian shaved ice, dippin' dots, frozen yogurt, frozen tofu or coconut, or popsicle.  It doesn't matter too much what your favorite style of frozen dessert is, there is likely one that you like.

Frozen desserts can make today a good day.

If possible, find a stand that sells such things.  Sit and watch the world go passed.  See the kids go through napkins and spill scoops and have faces covered in goo.  If there's no stand, a grocery will do.  But buy enough for a few friends and invite them over to share.  Frozen desserts are better with friends.

Here is one of my favorite frozen desserts:

Strawberry Frozen Salad‑ Klinger Classics

1 8‑oz cream cheese, softened ¾ cup sugar 1 lg. can pineapple tidbits, drain 10‑oz pkg. frozen strawberries

1 cup chopped nuts 2 bananas sliced 1 large cool whip

Beat cream cheese and sugar together.  Mix remaining ingredients with cheese mixture.  Spoon into loaf pan and freeze overnight.  Keeps 4‑6 weeks in the freezer.

Have a scoop or two . . and make today a good day.

Pre-catastrophic priority evaluation

What would happen if you found out you were going to die this year?  What would happen if you found that a loved one was going to die this year?  Few people want to think about it.

Today might be a good day to think about it though; a good day to think about how you spend your day and whether it has value to you.

Imagine all the people you would have to talk to.  Imagine all the things you'd want to do.  Take a moment and think about what you would want to share.

Do you have many friends?  Siblings?  Parents?  Relatives?  Teachers that changed your life?  Do you have children?

Waiting for a catastrophe to do these things (if you even got the chance) is risky.   It's risky to you and to the people you share your life with.

Today is a very good day to look at what you would do if you HAD to do something and start doing it.  Today is a good day to do a pre-catastrophic evaluation of your life and then act on what you come up with.

Oh.  And don't die. Please.  You'd be missed.

Yawwwn.

Being tired can make a person cranky.  It can make it hard for someone to see the good in anything or anyone.  It can make them want to yell at old people and kick puppies.

Sometimes, all that needs to happen to make a day better is to take a break and take a nap.  Find a quiet place and relax.  Ten minutes can make the difference between a career-ending meltdown and  world peace (at least for *your* world).

So, if you are feeling that you are losing control of your good day, go to your room (or your car, or shut the door of your office) and catch some Zzzz. 

Go out and see the World

Doing the same thing, the same way every day can be a comfort.  It can also be a monotonous blockage preventing you from having a good day.

We live in amazing times.  Our ability to see places outside our neighborhood have never been so great.  And while the sameness of much of where we live can be overwhelming (or perhaps underwhelming).

Maybe today is a good day to do something different.

Today might be a good day to take a different route home from work.  Today might be a good day to go to a park you've never been to or a restaurant you've seen and wondered about but never gone in.  Today might be the day you finally find peace where you never were looking.

Today might be a good day to plan a trip to a far-away or not-so-far-away place.  Today might be a good day to get into your car and drive on a country road until you got to a small town with a square in the middle of it and a bed & breakfast nearby and spend the night.  Today might be the day you discover the best biscuit and gravy of your life or the person you are going to marry.

There is a world of adventure right outside your door if you will only go looking for it.

Go.
Look for it.
Make today a good day . . on the road.

Make yourself smile

Here's a trick to make your day better.  Take something pencil-like (a pencil works great) and hold it by the ends with your two hands.  Put it in your mouth like a bridle on a horse.  Go ahead and push it way to the back and up a little . . almost as if you were smiling.

You should feel happier; most people do.  Well . . do you?

What just happened was muscle memory.  Because your muscles are in that position when you smile, and you smile when you are happy, your brain has become "reverse-wired" to act happy when those muscles get "smiley".

Oftentimes, making today a good day is made up of little happinesses.  Let this be one of yours if you need a pick-me-up.

Also, watching your friends and co-workers perform this little experiment can make today better for anyone watching.  Have fun!

Working for the money?

Life is full of work.  You may be a student going to school, or a parent managing a household, or a you might be a worker in an office or a factory.  Any way you look at it, there you are . . working.

One way to make today a good day it to have a reason for working and to remember that reason as you go through your day. 

Making money is almost never the reason for working.  If you are a student, you might be going to school because you love learning.   If you are a homemaker you might be working to have a place that makes you and your family comfortable.  If you are a worker outside the home, maybe you have that dream vacation on the horizon or the you want to be able to buy that new patio set.

Having a good day isn't always about what you are doing today.  It can be about doing something today for tomorrow.  Spend some time today focused on the *why* you are working . . and make today a good day.

Live life to the fullest

Making today a good day isn't about coasting along.  Making a today a good day is about doing things you love.  Making today a good day is about taking chances. Making today a good day is about DOING.

There once was a caterpillar
Who watched butterflies.
He said he didn't want yo fly.
But he lied.

One day he fell asleep.
When he awoke he could fly.
He soared with his wings
All over the garden.

Everyone now loved the butterfly
And he loved himself.

Not many weeks later
He flew higher than ever before
And was eaten by a bird.

Live your life as if you might not be here tomorrow to make that day a good day.