In the spirit of being a good student of what I believe to be sound science, I will be posting a journal entry each day for the next few weeks, beginning today. Each entry will be about something positive that happened in my life over the previous 24 hours. Below is the TED Talk explaining this decision. I’m going to do the other exercises as well, but may or may not mention them again on my blog during the journaling period.
Day 1: Last night, my boys and I went to my sister-in-law’s house for a Friday night study group that is also a time of much laughter and my children playing happily with their cousins, my nieces. Last night was no exception. During the early afternoon I found out is was my sister-in-law’s birthday, so found time to make her a cake (banana, a suggestion from my younger son). All enjoyed it, some took seconds. My mom especially loved the cake and was happy I brought some home for her afterwards.
The study group includes my oldest niece. I’ve watched her grow from a baby to a beautiful youth, poised on becoming and extraordinary young woman. Listening to her observations of history, the world, spiritual reality, and being in the fray of a public high school without getting caught up in the chaos, is one of my favorite way to spend time. I love how attentive she is to what all the adults have to say, and we range from 39 to 70+.
During the study time, when I checked on the kids, I found my younger son with his favorite cousin deeply and happily engaged in a game of (what if we lived in the world of) Harry Potter. My older son and a cousin he doesn’t normally spend much time with found a groove in a different room and enjoyed a board game and many giggles.
All three of us were immensely appreciative of a kind evening with family/friends and shared this gratitude as part of our nightly prayer.