The #100happydays project that I, along with several friends, started in January following the death of my friend K.B., has come to a close. I have not yet decided whether I will do a "victory lap," make it a "365 happy days," or move on to something else.
In the meantime, the best way to get the stories behind each of the pictures is to visit my Pinterest board. And here are some collages and a few observations.
I'm surprised that I only missed one day (Day 21) in the entire series. I'm positive that something made me happy that day, but because I didn't capture it, I can't remember what it was.
And therein lies the real value of this exercise: the ability to look back at a period of time that included grieving, cold, and pain, and be grateful all over again for those moments and days that brought light and joy.
Not surprisingly, Kane figured largely in the series - almost one picture per week, as we bonded and he learned how to behave on walks and in our home. But my family also appeared on a regular basis, including each of my children. There is only one photo of Stephen, but he was behind the scenes at many of the pictures.
Although food is definitely something that brings me happiness, I consciously tried NOT to make all my posts food-related. Nevertheless, food and drink appear with great frequency.
I also chronicled the change of season from dead of winter to wet spring - and found beauty in it, from the soft white of a snowstorm on Day 10 to the delicate drops of rain on a branch on Day 94. Beauty is definitely something that makes me happy, wherever I may find it - which may explain why tulips appear three times in the 100 days.
Although some of the things I captured (such as the ongoing saga of Kane hiding his bone) were things that made me laugh, most of them simply made me smile or sigh, things that swelled my heart. If I continue this project, I will keep looking for those things.
How do you recognize happiness in your day-to-day life?
I love this so much. I have to say I'm glad we did it. Now, of course I've managed to do 86 days instead of 100, so I will keep going until I'm done. It may take me three months! Not that I don't have happy things each day, but more that I can't always take a picture. You are a lovely photographer and your pictures have made me happy in themselves.
ReplyDelete"Not getting a picture" is why some of the pictures are actually just product pictures found online. Too lazy to go downstairs and grab my phone or camera. The fancy pictures were a fun exercise.
DeleteI liked your tag on your 100th post- #stillhappy. I'm considering using that to continue posting things that make me happy, but without the stress of feeling like I have to post every day (the result of being a "perfectionist" and not wanting to "fail").
ReplyDeleteI hadn't even thought of doing that. Good idea!
DeleteHappy 100 (minus # 21) days to you!! What a great looking mosaic and I like the things that made you happy! I see friends & family, food and the outdoors mostly, it's wonderful! A big bouquet of tulips to you for getting though that! One teeny question though - what's up with the hot water tank??
ReplyDeleteOur hot water tank went into "vacation" mode, just barely keeping the water warm, and wouldn't reset. This happened over a weekend, of course. We were so happy to see the repairman on Monday!
DeleteI love this idea -- and the collage just represents it so beautifully. I think it's just as is represented here: beauty and joy is all around us. in the simple things. in the big things. we just have to take the time to notice it.
ReplyDeleteYup -- taking the time to recognize it is the real challenge.
DeleteI really enjoyed your posts-- I know it's not the point, but it brought happy days to others. To the point that I'm now seriously thinking of doing it myself. I did notice that Kane and Elly were featured a lot (of course, they are very cute-- and pets do bring a lot of joy) as was food. Thanks for doing it!!
ReplyDeleteYou should! It is a fun exercise and, as you can see, I'm still going.
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