James and I are taking a parenting class offered by August's school. The class is called Parenting with Love and Logic (the link goes to a book by the same name). The basic idea is to use empathy with our children in order to empower them to handle their own problems and decisions. One of...
happiness
What Do You Most Wish for Your Children?
I was flipping through a local magazine for moms last week when I came across an interview with the cover mom, a local business owner. One of the questions, thrown unceremoniously into the middle of the interview, was, "Your biggest wish for your kids is..." Can you guess the answer?
Wrapping Up My Happiness Project
Six months ago I started a small happiness project, and now it's coming to an end. Today I'd like to look back on the project, see where I succeeded and where I didn't, and what lessons I can carry forward.
Making Friends As An Adult in the US and Sweden
I've been thinking a lot about relationships—particularly friendships—as part of my happiness project these last few months. It's also something I think about as an immigrant living in a foreign country. I have been blessed to have some of the very best friends in the world, but, unfortunately, they all live an ocean—or an ocean and a...
Happiness Project Month 5 Wrap-Up
This month in my happiness project I wanted to give myself an attitude adjustment. I wanted to pause to enjoy the moment, and I wanted to work on my bad habit of complaining too much. I was fairly successful in my first goal but less so in my second. It helped that I set myself up...
Happiness Project Month 5: an Attitude Adjustment
This month I'm working on giving myself something my mother offered to give me countless times throughout my teenage years: an attitude adjustment. I'd been struggling with what to focus on this month (and yes, I know that we're already ten days into the month and I'm late to the game); I really want to...
Happiness Project: Building Community Through Winter Traditions
This month in my happiness project I'm focusing on building traditions and community for our family. Last week I wrote about forgoing Christmas gifts in order to donate money to organizations that help to build the kind of world we want to live in. This whole month, though, I've been working on surrounding ourselves with friends and loved ones to help...
Happiness Project Check-In, and Some Thoughts on Meaning and Happiness
So way back when, at the beginning of October, I got started with the second month of my happiness project, focused on making our home a cozy haven. I was doing quite well with getting our home in order, organizing and sorting (and donating) as well as rearranging and decorating. And then halfway through the...
Spending 1-on-1 Time With Kids
I'm finally back. I was a bit ambitious to think that I'd be able to get right back to posting on Wednesday, the day after we returned from the US. I was essentially immobilized by exhaustion and jet lag our first day home (I cannot sleep sitting up on airplanes), and just as I was beginning to feel...
Happiness isn't big enough
Last week I wrote a post considering the question of whether seeking happiness actually makes us miserable, as some maintain. (Spoiler alert: I don't think so.) I was moved by the comments to that post, and all week I've been thinking about this one: In the 1960s, there were some very popular and influential books that accused American...