Filling the Jar

A Little Behind on Gratitude...

Last night, I poured myself a glass of wine and sat down with my Happiness/Gratitude Jar for the first time in months.

If you remember from last year, I started this little (well actually large) jar where I write down little things throughout the days, months, the year... that make me smile, that I'm grateful for, or little bits of happiness. At the end of the year, I like to spend New Year's Eve with a glass of wine or champagne and ring in the new year looking back at all the special moments throughout the year - Excited for another year of special moments that make me smile.

Last night felt like a great night to "catch up". I realized I hadn't added to the jar since I left for vacation way back in March - and trust me... there have been A LOT of special moments since then that I want to be able to re-read on New Year's Eve night... smile, and reminisce about all the little things this year brought.

I was a little worried when I pulled my jar out - how was I ever to remember 5 months' worth of joy and happy moments!? It felt a bit daunting, to be honest, but I did myself a bit of a favor in March when I left for the Philippines - I wrote down little moments in a notebook each night. Reading through that notebook made me smile! All of the kindness, the new experiences, the stressful moments I can look back on now and laugh about... all written down in my little notebook.

As I dug in and started adding to my jar, I caught myself laughing and looking back at photos... and kind of missing that trip! Suddenly, catching up on 5 months felt less stressful, and more fun than I thought!

Digging into my notebook from my March Philippines trip, I poured another glass of wine and pulled out my phone... looking back at all the photos over the months - It was almost like a mini happiness reveal - a night to be grateful for all the new experiences and kind people I met, and then getting back home: all of coffee dates with good friends, special events such as JazzFest and the Wanderlight Trail, celebrating a friend's 40th, seeing friends from out of state, plant shopping, fun work events, farmers markets and baseball games, beautiful flowers and achieving goals - like the creative time I spent designing business logos for a couple of side ventures I'm working on...

The memories of spending time with a friend for my birthday, the rainbows that appear in my living room in the morning, listening to 90's/early 2000's music while dancing around my apartment cleaning... all of the little moments that made me smile - So many moments of joy!

Last night I realized that my Happiness/Gratitude Jar doesn't always have to be perfectly written and filled each day - that sometimes it's more important to experience the moments. live the happy, and be grateful to look back and smile at the memories.