I was at Starbucks a couple of weeks ago when this lovely older lady – waiting behind me in line – began to reminisce about all of her parenting days gone by.  She looked at me…she looked at my kids…then she stared me straight in the face and said “make sure you love every precious moment of this…it will be the best time of your life…”

Now, I get that she was trying to be kind.  I get that she was trying to be endearing.  And I get that she was hoping to pass on her wisdom.  But a small part of me still wanted to punch her in the throat!!!  Don’t get me wrong…it’s certainly not a part of me that I’m overly proud of…but as the words were coming out of her mouth, Hudson was trying to shoplift four pounds of coffee…Avery was screaming because I wouldn’t let her lick the bottom of our stroller…I was wearing two different colour socks…and I can’t honestly remember if I had even brushed my teeth yet that day.  Of those precious moments that I was supposed to be loving…that certainly wasn’t my finest.  And truth be told…while I certainly love my children to the ends of the earth…I really don’t love every minute of parenting them.  Having two young children means that ten seconds after they wake up in the morning…they are either fighting with each other or conspiring to burn the house down!  Most days become a lesson in preemptive negotiation and every day is a test of my patience, my grace, and my ability to talk myself out of selling them to the gypsies!  Parenting can be hard.  Really hard.  And why shouldn’t it be?  I’m doing the most important thing that I’ll ever do in my life; raising two amazing little people.  But that doesn’t make it easy…or glamorous…or filled with delight during every moment of the day.  And I’m okay with that.  Finally!

The reality is…my life is a bit chaotic right now.  Being a full-time parent of two toddlers is really challenging.  Being a full-time parent of two toddlers while running a full-time business makes me want to eat cheesecake most days of the week!  And doing all of this in the depths of winter can be outright soul sucking sometimes.

But I love them.  More than life itself.  I wouldn’t trade our chaotic life for anything.  But sometimes it takes a conscious effort to remember that.

And this is where #31happythings comes in.

A good friend of mine and I were chatting about the struggles that so often seem to come along with this time of year and we realized that life – just like the seasons – goes through its transitions.  The days can be a bit unpredictable…warm one day…cold the next.  And so it goes with life…uplifting one day…discouraging the next.  But it’s just that…a transition.  The natural challenges that come with growth and change and adjustment.  It’s not easy breaking through frozen ground so that you can reach for the sky…

So my lovely friend came up with the idea taking a moment through each day of March to record {via Instagram} one simple pleasure.  One source of joy.  One thing to be grateful for.  Because that’s often all it takes to remember the immense beauty of life…one simple thing.  It’s the way the morning light streams through the kitchen window…the rare quiet moments that occur throughout the day…the way words that you weren’t expecting to read become exactly what you needed to see.

Below is a glimpse of our project so far {clearly, I’m grateful for food!!!}.  It’s a project that has made me appreciate my life that much more.  Even in the midst of the screaming…the endless hours of work…the layers of snow.  If you feel up for it, please feel free to join us on Instagram using the hashtag #31happythings…the more simple things, the better!

At times, it can be a surprising challenge to find one simple thing…a simple thing that matters.

That is, until you realize that one simple thing…a simple thing that matters…is all life really is and all you’ll ever really need…