Becoming the Happiest Mom: Happiness is Within Reach

Yes, I can! I am not sure if I am referring to claiming my happiness or reading a chapter a day and blogging about it.  As you may be able to tell, it is almost midnight and I just found time to share my thoughts from the first chapter of the Happiest Mom.

The nice thing about a good book is that it encourages reflection. Here are a few of my random thoughts after reading the first chapter:

• Kids everywhere prefer to have their sandwich without the crust much to the horror of most moms.
• A 3 year old's heart can break because his brother called him a "bad boy". Don't overanalyze it, just give him a big hug.
• The existence of the human race depends on moms keeping their boys from accidently causing great harm to themselves.
• There are other mothers out there who would trade in brunch with the family for a few hours of quiet enjoyment/reflection on Mother's day.
• If you want to give a mommy a great gift, give her time alone to grocery shop.
• You can recover from taking the kids all the way to school only to realize that you forgot their shoes.
• I think that I know how to raise happy kids but can anything be done about the whining?
• I am not the only mother who has been tempted to cry and call my mother for a hug.
• My oldest child is 6 and I have ironed his clothing maybe twice and I am fine with it.
• No is a beautiful word that should be used without guilt.

The best quote from the first chapter is "How can you find happiness if you can't find your keys?"  I am a law and order mommy, and a happy life for me means an organized life. It doesn't have to be perfect, I just need to know where the pieces fit. I get a quick happiness boost from rearranging furniture in my house. Does this work for anyone else?

I am an optimist and I always want the glass to be way more than 1/2 full, which is why I am drawn to a book about finding happiness as a mom. The mommy war stories are funny and I relate to many of them but they can leave moms feeling hopeless and resigned to just getting by. It is nice  to read that happiness is within the reach of all mothers. It is for the taking, now, not when the kids get older or better behaved or reach some other milestone.  I look forward to getting past just surviving and actually thriving! Now where are those keys? See you tomorrow.