Our intention this week is to be inspired. You can read about other Awesomely Awake intentions here.
Some days we have regular, average, nothing special kinds of days — you know, when you drop the kids off, go to work, pick the kids up and then go home and make dinner and then do homework and then give baths and then read books and go to bed.
Should I say collapse into bed?
You know those days, right?
They are regular. Nothing sparkled. Nothing shined. It was OK — and you had plenty to be grateful for, for sure.
I call them Mondays.
I can’t live that way. I don’t expect my kids to live that way either.
Part of my awake journey is to ensure that each day has a little bling of living in it. We get this one great chance at a lifetime of love and wonder and I believe we have to grab it with a firm grip and not let go.
Because a busy life naturally leads us to disconnect from what matters.
Of course, I have to be reminded of this time and time again, especially when life gets hectic as it has most definitely been lately.
That’s why we love weekends so much and hate Mondays equally. So, a while back I decided there weren’t going to be anymore Mondays in my life. That every day should be as fun as a Saturday. That’s when I started this project.
Lately, I’ve gotten extremely busy again and I can feel myself starting to endure another bout of careaholic burning inside of me. I have had to remind myself that to live an inspired, awake life takes effort and creativity. It takes a lot of deep breathing. It takes a tiny bit of planning. But when we do take the time, the results are magical and full of awe and wonder — as life should be.
Such as tonight when we split two big cupcakes and each shared our best moments of the day. Not perfect moments but things we feel we did better today than days past.
Life is meant to be lived. That’s why we are here, isn’t it? That’s why we are striving to be Awesomely Awake. That’s why we wanted a family and children, right?
So, let’s take a moment and really brainstorm how to turn a regular day into a spectacular day with very little planning. First, return to that lovely Energy List you made Monday, and the “Think Outside the Box” box list on Wednesday and read them again …
Now, we’re going to write a third list. Write the things you love to do as a family, things that bring laughter, things that bring big smiles to your day; things that give you energy, that make your day as a family shimmer and shine. Write for a long time. Keep adding to this list when new ideas come to you. They will for sure.
Now today, this weekend, next week … start doing those things as often as possible.
Science experiments always brighten a day
Here’s our family’s 9 Ways to Make Any Day Better:
Celebrate — Light a candle for something ordinary and lovely like how you did the crow in yoga or how your child was brave during the school’s fire drill. Put that candle in ice cream, a cookie or even a muffin. Anything at all that’s on hand. Even an Eggo waffle would do! Of course, the best is always a delicious chocolate cupcake.
Get Outside — Days are just better when we get out for fresh air. It’s as simple as that. Even when it’s cold and snowy. Even when it’s cloudy and grey. Even if we just play with sidewalk chalk, being outdoors makes everything better.
Talk Walks — Explore, wonder, live in awe as you walk. Make up stories. Walk in silence. Hold hands. Definitely hold hands.
Read Together – Carve out one hour to just read together. Could be anywhere but make it special and make it an ordeal with blankets and pillows and special snacks. Talk about the books. Stop often and really embrace the questions and comments. Be patient to move on to the next page. Really patient. When you run out of books, tell stories.
Throw a picnic — At the park, on the back patio, in the front yard, in the living room. A blanket and some fun food is all you need. Day better already!
Be silly – Have a night of telling jokes. Or drawing funny pictures. Dance. Play follow the leader and put Dad as the leader. Wear silly clothes.
Go some place new — I only recently added this to the list. We went to a very old-school diner kind of place and it was so nice to experience something so different together. I didn’t realize until that moment that we had been stuck in a routine that avoided some new experienes — all because we were so used to taking care of little children. Now that our girls are older this will certainly be a top energy driver in our family.
Mix up your routine — I like certainty. I like knowing things. If you pick your kids up from school or after care as I do, pack your sneakers and head across town to explore. If your kids go home on the bus, meet them at the bus stop and go for a dice walk. Let the kids make dinner. Skip baths and just play games. Go off schedule. Do anything that allows you to do less than you normally do.
Jadyn with her first Eiffel Tower drawing!
Creative boost — Anytime we use art materials as a family and create something we can be proud of it turns our day into magic. I love when we put a little family art into our day. Make a poster, a banner, special cards for family or church members who have been sick and need a pick-me-up. Or, just go with the flow and create anything.
Please add your favorite family friendly posts to the Kids Co-Op below!! Leave a comment with your link # so I can check out your posts, in particular. Thanks!
Thank you for such a lovely post! I particularly liked the line “Part of my awake journey is to ensure that there is a little bling of living to it”that I even posted about it in my blog!
http://365daysofmotherhood.blogspot.com/2012/03/little-bling-each-day.html
Looking forward to reading more inspiring posts from you.
warm regards,
Lana
I always love starting the day with one of your posts! Your girls are beautiful and they make what you write so much more magical because it’s really your story! Will be linking up later today and would love you to stop by!
Brooke
Thanks, Brooke!! Would love to stop by so …
I love love love your blog on 9 Ways to Make Any Day Better! This really spoke to me as I just had my baby girl last April and I work a full time job. Going through the whole back to work after my maturnity was really hard. Trying not to get burnt out during the week and loving my weekends…thanks…Amanda
I work full-time so I know. Good for you for doing it all. It is NOT easy to be a working mama, for many reasons. hugs to you. glad you found this Awake community.
I’m having one of those days that we need to make better, so this post was just what I needed!
I linked up today, so I hope you’ll check it out.
Yeah!!! Will do! And hugs!!
Your posts are so inspiring! I love this one and now all I want to do is cuddle up with my kids when they get home and read, read, read!
: ) We are planning to run around outside and chase each other! Have a great weekend. And, thank you, thank you.
I love the brilliant concept of living life like every day is a Saturday or at least has a little Saturday spark in it! Your list is lovely … it is simple … easy to do … inspiring. I have a feeling our family’s list would look a lot like yours. We love to get outside, take walks, read books, and celebrate the little things. We will work on our list this week … actually we will create and DO our list this week! Thanks for the inspiration, as always!
http://www.handsfreemama.com
Thanks, Rachel! Glad you found the list an inspiration. : ) xo
Another inspiring post Shawn! Everything you suggest is always so simple yet so powerful, and that’s the point I guess, isn’t it? Have a picnic, change the routine, light a candle. All so completely do-able. It’s wonderful. Thank you.
I love this post! Thank you so much for sharing this. I recently started a daily ritual that emphasizes each of my top 5 strengths – like creating beauty every day, appreciating the small things, taking time to feed my intellect tank, & carving out time to be still – and these tiny, daily practices make such a difference on the overall feeling of my life.
Kellie — Good ideas you share. I was just walking on the treadmill today thinking I need to create a new list that reminds myself of the things that keep my mind healthy: walking, meditation, yoga, writing morning pages and eating healthy. Thanks for visiting!
Thank you for such an "inspiring" post. I too am now building up some activities that would get our kids engaged at home. They grow up so fast and it's good to remember all these little details in as much as we can, not just for the kids but for us parents as well.
Here's a link to my post on our family outing pictorial:
http://visiblyengaged.wordpress.com/2012/09/30/family-fun-pictorial/
greetings,
Lana Jelenjev
Great post! Thanks for sharing. Sorry for my delay. I am never notified of FB comments. Just happened to be linking to this post for my next blog post. Keep playing!