LOL. Really? Really!

The other day I was in a chat room and someone posted a link to some video.  My two office mates both watched it and typed "lol".  The secret though?  I was four feet away from both and didn't hear a peep.

Me?  I watched the video and typed "lqtm".  "Laughing quietly to myself".

I rarely laugh out loud.  When I do, it's often a short, quiet laugh barely noticed by anyone, even myself.

I realize that when I do, I feel better.

I need to laugh more.  I need to laugh long and hard.  I need to show a physical manifestation of the joy I feel so that I can spread it around.

"A good time to laugh is any time you can."  ~Linda Ellerbee, Journalist, Nick News

"Laughter is an instant vacation."  ~ Milton Berle, Comedian

"With the fearful strain that is on me night and day, if I did not laugh I should die."  ~Abraham Lincoln, President and tall guy

Want to have a good day?  Laugh.  Laugh out loud.

Can you be "whelmed"?

A person can be underwhelmed by something . . and overwhelmed by others.  I wonder though, if someone can be in a perfect state of bliss  . . and be "whelmed"?

I don't know anyone that goes through a week without being overwhelmed.  I  know people that cannot go through a day without overwhelmed.  It seems sometimes that our way of life is designed to keep us right on the wrong edge of the overwhelmed line.  Being overwhelmed can make it hard to have a good day.

One way to try to make an overwhelming day better is to break overwhelming things into smaller  . . manageable pieces.

Chocolate also helps.
Going outside helps.
Laughter helps.
Rest helps.

Now . . having done all that you are likely further behind.  Time to catch up.

Make a list of what you can reasonably get done.  Whatever doesn't fit on that list put on another to be done later.  If new tasks arrive put them on one of the two lists.   If it has to go on today's list . . take something off and put it on the other.

If these tasks are given to you by someone else . . tell them what you are doing and why.  Get them to help you prioritize.

If these tasks were assigned to you by you . . give yourself a break.   Your life is pretty short and getting shorter all the time.

Now is a good time to go to your happy place and finally feel "whelmed" . . before you go under.

Dirt. Grass. Sky.

If you want to make today a good day you should spend time with dirt, grass, or sky.  Spend time with all three for extra bonus points.

Our lives are so busy these days.  It seems like there is always something dragging us to do some other thing.

Spending time with dirt, grass, or sky requires us to take a minute and slow down.

Start your day walking barefoot somewhere where your feet can feel something soft.  You will be spending most of your day in shoes walking on hard surfaces.  Give your feet a break.  See how high up your body you can feel the grass as you walk.  Try to sink down into the earth as you move.

Take a look at the sky.  Sunrise, sunset.  Clouds.  Color.   Feel the wind and smell the smells.  Listen for trees rustling in the wind.

Good day don't have to me wonderful, magnificent things.  They can be have dirt . . . and grass . . and sky.  Then again, those can be magnificent, wonderful things too.

Just do it!

Doing things that are hard can make a day a good one.

I remember my first two-wheeler.  It was red with a long, silver banana seat.  It had solid, rubber tires and it felt huge.  I loved that bike and it scared the hell out of me. At some point my father decided that I didn't need training wheels and we spent "quality time" together with him pushing me, and me falling.  Over and over again.  Then . . again.
Much later, something magical happened.  I kept my balance and rode.  I've never stopped riding and loving the feeling of riding.

Twenty years later I taught myself to juggle and ride a unicycle.  I learned the same way; trying over and over.  Telling myself that I can catch one more ball than last time.  Or ride just a bit past where I fell the previous time.

I'm a husband.  I'm a father.

Think of something you wanted to do  . . . but couldn't.  Think of something that was hard . . but worth doing.
Focus for a minute on how you felt when you did that thing.  Hold it in your mind and remember how it felt.
That feeling; those thoughts made that moment part of a good day.

Are you doing anything hard in your life right now?  Is there something you should or could be doing?

Don't rob yourself of the opportunity of making today a good day by not doing anything.

Try to do something hard.
Fail.
Try again.
Try again.
Try again.

Make today a good day.

Special people make for special days.

I can't imagine not having someone to share my life with.  I can't imagine coming home and being alone.
There was a time when I thought nothing of it.  I had weekends where I wouldn't speak to anyone.  Worse, I remember days when I'd find myself talking to myself and being surprised at the sound of my voice.

I remember a time when I thought I was totally alone; when I questioned whether anyone even existed.

Now I know better.  I know that without someone (or even something) to share the highs and lows of my life with it is meaningless.  And I do not believe that I was put here with no purpose or meaning.

I have a wife.  Spending time with here has been the best choice I have ever made.  Almost every good day that has happened to me since I met her has been related to her.  She is a joy to me.

Do you want to have a good day?  Find someone to share your life with.  Find someone that will share their life with you.  Start small if you have to, maybe a cat or dog.  Perhaps you'd feel more comfortable with a family member and Facebook.

It doesn't matter how you start.  It matter THAT you start.  It matters that you go out and share every day.

Do you want to have a good day?  Open yourself and share who you are.

[Also . . get a wife.  Wives are amazing and I cannot recommend them enough. (mine is taken though . . find your own.)]

Change how you think.

My eleven year old daughter told her eight year-old sister the other day at the grocery store that times were tough.  The youngest wanted some super-sugared tasty treat that cost way too much.  Yes, it made me sad because the budget really didn't allow anything extra.

It's interesting to me though how some people handle that sort of thing.

Some people make do with what they have.  The grit their teeth, tighten their belts, buckle down, and get the job done.  They plod through the difficult times hoping for some thing to get better some day.

And then there are the people that make the best of things.  The ones that look on the bright side.  The ones that make lemonade out of lemons, smoothies out of old bananas, and casserole out of leftovers.

It's amazing how outlook can make a difference.  "Making do" and "making the best of" seem so similar on first glance but are worlds apart when it comes to effect (and affect).

Today is the best day you are going to get today . . make the best of it.  Make it the best day you can.

"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.