An inspirational and fun blog about living life happily in the sandwich generation while raising a son with autism as best as I know how.. one day at a time!
"Once in a lifetime, one should be allowed to have as much sweetness as one could possibly want and hold."...Judith Olney
And my kids definitely know how to haul it in, even when they were just 6 and 4 years old!
I love Halloween!! Some of my sweetest (no pun intended) memories with my kids have been from this last October day. I remember dressing my daughter for her first real trick or treating experience when she was two. She dressed up as Tigger the Tiger. When my husband came home from work he was pretending he could not see his daughter anywhere and kept calling her name out and looking through the closets and under the beds. Oh the giggles! She kept saying "Daddy, I'm here, I'm here." and he kept on "No I only see Tigger!" She finally took her head piece off to prove who she was. It was all too cute!!!
Then there was the year my husband decided to shave his head, not for Halloween, just because he wanted to. When he came home from work that Halloween, and told my son to lift his hat off to see his "costume", seeing his dad without hair scared him at first. But soon, when he understood that his hair would eventually grow back, he enjoyed feeling his hands all over his head and laughing at it all, while I filmed the video. That was also too cute!!
Now that they are 13 and 11, I feel that this year may be their last trick or treating time together. I explained to them both that when they get older, Halloween is still celebrated, but differently. It may be going to a party. I've never stopped celebrating Halloween, and I don't ever intend to!
To everyone out there with young children - enjoy this time with your kids! Make special memories with them for it's both their time and your's to enjoy the wonder and creativity of this fun and spooky season.
My video for today is my favourite childhood Halloween episode of Happy Days.
I remember this episode scared me a bit when I was eight or nine - but it has some very funny moments too. I'm going to watch it with my daughter today. She's never seen it before, but I know she'll love it.
At the end, Howard tells his family a joke he heard from a young trick-or-treater. If you take the insides out of a hot dog, what have you got left? A hollow-weinie. Cute!
Yes, these Happy Days are your's and mine, these Happy Days are your's and my Happy Days!
"The world of the 1990's and beyond will not belong to "managers" or those who can make the numbers dance. The world will belong to passionate, driven leaders - those who not only have enormous amounts of energy, but can energize those whom they lead."...Jack Welch
The first resolution of my Happiness Project is focusing on boosting my energy levels. I thought this a good place to begin as I'll need improvements in this area to ensure seeing my project through to completion. Having sufficient energy is vital to happiness as well as success. It's a measurement of good health as well. For this reason, this commandment is the only one of my twelve that I'm focusing on throughout the entire project. It's also the only one I'm keeping both a diary as well as recording statistics.
How is improving energy related to improving happiness levels, or being an energizer? An energizer is someone who motivates others and leads by example - is positive, enthusiastic, a team player, and a high performer. We want to associate with these type of people, engage with them, listen to them and know we'll be listened back. We want to work with them, we want to live with them, we want and need them in our lives. I believe that these positive qualities make peoples lives not only more interesting and passionate, but indeed happier. So back to my question, is there a connection between having more energy (relating to diet, exercise and sleep) and being an energizer? Based on my experiences and what I read - I'd have to say yes.
I worked as a Senior Accountant for a group of public companies back in the eighties and throughout the nineties. I worked with individuals with titles ranging from Bookkeeper to Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. There were many different personalities during my thirteen years that I can now clearly label as energizers. And yes, my recollection remains pretty clear - they all had very healthy attitudes toward nutrition, exercise and sleep.
As I was preparing for this Happiness Project, I went through my work portfolio and found several letters of recommendation written for me back in 1999. I'm glad I saved them because they really lifted my spirit. "Linda is very much a team player, she's positive, enthusiastic and shows great flexibility in her ability to perform new tasks". Ah that was nice...was I an energizer too? I often wonder how I would be regarded today if placed in that same situation. I'd like to think I'm just as positive and perky as I used to be, but I fear it's wishful thinking. My current portfolio written by school principals and teachers write that I'm patient, caring, compassionate and knowledgeable. Those are well suited qualities for what I'm currently doing, but I'll have to admit that I'd also like those around me to feel I'm a positive and enthusiastic person. I'd like to remember what that feels like again.
One very good reason to focus on improving energy as an integral part of my project.
I'd like to end today's post with a video clip from the X-Factor - a new show I'm really enjoying! This is Drew - she's only 14, I really love her voice, and this song she performed Tuesday "What a Feeling!", was a favourite of mine from the 80's (remember Flashdance?), so uplifting and shall I say, energizing. This version is quite different, but it's great, enjoy!
