Happy Day: About this Blog

I'm calling my blog "Happy Day" after the first two words my daughter Elizabeth put together in a phrase not long after she turned one year old. It is something that became a bit of a motto in her day care and has stuck with me as a family and personal motto  - - that amidst all of the crazy, sad, ugly or frustrating things that happen in life, there is always something that happens every day that inevitably makes you happy. Big or small. So why not enjoy, focus on and remember those moments? I am a big believer in the power of positivity. It has helped me through everything so far.

I just became a stay-at-home mom after a decade of public servitude, loving my jobs as a Park Ranger, Wildlife Biologist, Natural Hazards Planner and Marine GIS Analyst. My favorite job, by far, of course, for the past three years has been as a mom. Due to our move to San Francisco for my husband's job, I am now blessed to get to do it full time, even if just for a little while. There have been days so far when I have been really hard on myself about what I have "accomplished" that day compared to my normal work day ("I can't even get laundry done??? I used to do blah-blah-blah in this amount of time!"). In exchange for this line of thinking, it is easy to forget some of the wonderful things that did happen that day, which is maybe what it is really all about. This next step in life is bound to be the happiest, most challenging yet - and I'm determined to document it. Hopefully, it serves as a reminder how lucky I am to be right exactly where I am. And that the little accomplishments as a mom on a daily basis might not be linked to checking off your to-do list, but instead linked to the giggles, sniffles, cuddles, and living in the happy moments that just happen with a family (plus if I don't write things down these days they definitely didn't happen! My memory can be as as soupy as the San Francisco fog!).

So, here's to the start of my blog and the many happy things I'll write about. The goal is to write about one happy thing a day, even though I know there are always more. Feel free to chime in on a happy thing that happened to you today!

Happy day!