30 Days of Noticing

I have been in a rut again. A couple of days ago, I decided that enough was enough, and I need a plan to dig myself out. I assessed the situation, and realized that I had somehow lost sight of the "small stuff." You know, those small moments, sometimes fleeting, that just make you smile and get you through the not-so-great moments until the next one comes along. I was grumpy, snippy, and just plain not fun to be around. Part of that may have been the three week long cold I was dealing with, but I needed a plan none-the-less.

I have my faults, but I believe that one of my strengths is (usually) being able to recognize that something isn't going well, step back, and try to figure out how to make it better. I needed to think about what was contributing to my lack of "enjoying" lately (besides being in a persistent head cold fog).

I have not been back to posting pictures on Instagram. I had an epiphany about that: Lots of folks (including the former me) see the posting as "taking away" from the real moments. I get that. However, I have realized that more than that, posting pictures throughout the day actually helped me to notice small moments that I may have otherwise overlooked. Where I previously thought a bit negatively of my "Oh, this would be a great instagram picture!" thoughts, I am now seeing those as "Oh, what a great moment to capture!" This was usually followed by a caption, briefly describing the moment, thus appreciating it even more. I'm not attributing all of this rut to this, but I think I've got something here.

I know that theory probably seems ridiculous to some, but it makes all the sense in the world to me. Social media was encouraging me to see happiness and joy in otherwise ordinary moments. Which is funny, seeing how I blamed it for not enjoying what was in front of me when I "quit." It has its good and bad. ;)

Sooo...I decided that as part of my "get out of your rut already and smile" project, I will be posting those small moments here, on this blog, for 30 days. The idea is that it will get me back in the habit of noticing. What I'm thankful for, what makes me happy, and how incredibly lucky I am.

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Today:

The girls sorting their Smarties in their jammies. Brings me right back to childhood, and listening to their conversation was priceless. They were trading colors and just plain having one of those picture perfect sister moments.

I'm still high from yesterday, so one for today will suffice!