10 things To Do Every Day

When I wrote this list years ago, I didn't put much store into its longevity. If I recall correctly, I wrote it as a way to get my kids, aged 10 & 5, engaged with positivity at an early age. Kayla, the youngest, took the message to heart and immediately began checking off items (gotta love her enthusiasm)!

I noticed right away that some things were easy to do each day with "sing and laugh" as the big winner. I was happy with that figuring it to be a great place to start if your biggest goal for the day was to not get in trouble with either parent.

Moving my body in different ways sounded easy, but it took much more thought than I expected. The result was mixed. It began with walking, then adding arm movements and ended up with me dancing down the sidewalk, to Sophia's embarrassment and Kayla's absolute delight. We decided then to take dance classes as a class was a more appropriate place to shake your booty!

Walking in trees and smelling a flower sounded doable, but there weren't many trees in my neighbourhood, and flowers were seasonal. We did our best, however. I began walking and biking in our local bog—those times are some of my favourite memories.

Telling someone daily that you love them was surprisingly challenging. Now don't get me wrong. I love my family to pieces but had to work to say the words every day. I confess that during this phase, my kids drove me nuts and often, what came out of my mouth was more like, "You should be damn thankful that I love you so much; otherwise, this would get ugly quickly!"

Wishing a stranger a "nice" day was a surprise gift for me. I honestly hadn't realized what joy I would feel from this simple act. It accomplished a couple of things for me in one full sweep: I immediately donned a smile, I felt connected to someone else, I got surprised return smiles, and best of all, I was grounded in my sense of community.

As a long-time dieter (health and wellness seeker today), I had little trouble drinking more water and limiting my sugar. The girls, on the other hand, struggled with this one. Water was only in existence as a means to drink Kool-Aid and play in, and sugar was the elixir of life. They are still working on these!

As mentioned earlier, singing and laughing was the most effortless and fun bullet point to master. We always had music playing in the house and the car. I am immensely proud that both girls know the words to many of my favourites; Elton John, Dave Matthews Band and Gipsy Kings come to mind.

Hugging comes easily to most moms, I suspect. Despite the daily challenges of motherhood, is there anything better than giving or getting a hug from your kids? I say no. Giving and getting hugs from the adults in our lives proved to be less consistent but just as worthy. To this day, the feel of my father's arms around me as he whispered, "Hello, my baby." brings a smile to my face, especially as he has long passed away.

Now to my last bullet point; Dream of a Better World. The kids didn't have a reference point for that, so they mostly ignored this. They were too young to understand their role in creating their reality. That's ok. I hardly understand it myself some days. Bringing this statement to life took work and is still a work in progress. I find that some days, having one positive thought about my life is the most I can muster, much less dream of a better world. However, I am getting better and making a conscious effort to do just that. Today, I picture the world I want for my family every night before falling asleep. It may be a small or straightforward thought, but understanding how the universe works, I am happy with the effort. I believe that your thoughts and ideas will create your reality. I also think that lists can be a pain in the ass until the day they aren't. Of all the to-do lists I have written over the years, this one is my favourite and is still standing; in fact, it hangs in my office as a gentle but persistent reminder.

Do you have a daily life list? What is the one thing you struggle to accomplish on that list?