A daily post of Happy.
Day 365: About a year ago I posted a photo of this little pinwheel and began a personal journey to rediscover "Happy". About a year ago I was the lowest I've ever been: withdrawn, depressed, finding it hard to get out of bed in the morning, finding that feeling happy was almost impossible. My younger sister was working on this "100 Happy Days" project thing, and she gently encouraged me to give it a go. And so I did, one day at a time, I tried to find a single thing each day that I could be Happy about. At first it was really difficult. I felt like I was really reaching for the first bit. But then, it got a bit easier. And then it became fun. I began to quite enjoy looking for the perfect "Happy", and I enjoyed writing about it and sharing it with all of you even more. As you may know or have guessed I've stretched it well past the 100-day mark, and now find myself with an entire year's worth of journal entries that if ever I feel a bit blue I can go back and read and remember how lucky I am. And here we are, at Day 365, the final entry to complete this project. I think it's important to "complete" the project, but I think it's equally important to continue to try and find Happy in each day. Though I may not post every day, I promise to share when it really feels like it should be shared. Thank you all for coming on this journey with me. Thank you for your beautifully kind notes and words of encouragement. Thank you for reading and sharing with me. I would encourage anyone who feels that they could use a boost try this project out. Like this little faded pinwheel, I've changed over the course of this past year. I feel stronger, more centred, and of course, happier. So now with this one completed, I'll be looking for a new challenge: maybe "100 Days Of Health" or "100 Days Of Gratitude" or something to that effect. Thoughts? Thanks for reading everyone. Be Happy. #365happydays A photo posted by @kaileyjane82 on Jul 29, 2015 at 2:50pm PDT
Day 364: Pardon the bug bites...I've been just eaten alive this year...but do you like m'new tat? Another Tuesday at the Keady Market with another awesome Friend, this one also a member of my beloved rock choir. Her idea to get the henna, my idea for the image we chose to go with. I love it. Represent TCTROS! Really looking forward to the next semester. That bunch sure makes me Happy. #youshouldsing #TCTROS #KeadyMarket #365happydays A photo posted by @kaileyjane82 on Jul 28, 2015 at 11:06am PDT
Day 363: I'm not great with goodbyes. They aren't my favourite. If you have been reading and following this week, I have been hosting my dear long-distance-roommate "Tulip" (her nickname) at Lovely House for a week of adventures, good food, laughs and good times. As the saying goes, all good things must come to an end. And so it was today, this morning when I had to say farewell. She is continuing her Canadian holiday and I must return to my little world in OS. Happily, I'm leaving her in excellent care with another dear Friend, C, and I just know the pair of them will live it up properly this week before Tulip continues onwards to her next engagement. We three were all floor mates in residence in our first year: Lower Floor in Annesley Hall at U of T (which is more years ago now than I care to think about) and many of us who lived in that res that first year have stayed very close. We don't see one another nearly as often as we'd like due to time, distance, family and work commitments, but when we *do*, it's always wonderful. Last night we had another Annesley Girl join us for a rousing game of Cards Against Humanity (turns out Tulip is the least horrible among us), and today it was just we three for a leisurely visit and breakfast. When the time came to depart, I could feel myself getting emotional. I absolutely love where I live and what my life is like most days...but can't somebody invent a teleportation machine already? *le sigh* So with a couple of selfies, some hugs and promises to get together soon, I left. And I felt sad and pretty lonely. But again, the purpose of this project isn't to be sad, it's to find the Happy. And so in that spirit I must say how absolutely Happy it makes me to have such people in my life, how lucky I am to have picked that school and that residence, and how I know that it isn't "goodbye", it's a "see you later". It's going to be hard to wait for "later". Good thing this week was so great...lots of Happy stored up in reserves for when I miss everyone. Thanks for coming to visit, Tulip. Thanks for hosting me last night, C. Can't wait to do it again. See you both soon. Xo #luckyhotdog #goodtimesgoodtimes #365happydays A photo posted by @kaileyjane82 on Jul 27, 2015 at 6:49pm PDT
Day 362: At this very moment I am at a dear Friend's house relaxing in the backyard. I'm on an "anti-gravity chair", reclined, listening to the sound of bugs buzzing softly in the flowers nearby, the sound of the summer wind as it makes its way through the trees, and an ice cream truck in the distance playing "Turkey In The Straw". I'm warm, comfortable, extremely relaxed, and Happy. I love summer. #365happydays A photo posted by @kaileyjane82 on Jul 26, 2015 at 2:42pm PDT
Day 361: Happiness, for me, is rooted soundly with my family: my immediate, my extended, and my adopted. Today was our annual Thompson Family Reunion...and I can't tell you what number of annual it was because it's been going on as long as I can remember and possibly longer. It's always in the same place at roughly the same time of year, and most of the usual suspects show up, and...the food. Oh, the food. Let me tell you Friends: nobody goes home hungry from our family reunion. There are some favourites I try and make sure I get into: Tracy's salad, the red cabbage salad and the garlic potato salad...the pumpkin bars and those delicious delicious fudge brownies...oh man. And there's tennis, sometimes baseball, today bocce, and of course lots of visiting and catching up. It's such a lovely day, and though I sometimes don't feel like making the drive, I'm always so glad I did. Today my Happy is my whole Thompson clan, immediate and extended. Good to see those who were seen, and we missed those who couldn't attend. Hope to see you next year. I'll bring the bocce. #ThompsonFamilyReunion #365happydays A photo posted by @kaileyjane82 on Jul 25, 2015 at 9:14pm PDT
Day 360.5: I hope you'll allow me the indulgence of a second one of these for today. I wasn't sure if it would happen, but then it did. Today I did something I have always wanted to do, but never really thought I'd have the courage to actually do it. Today I played guitar and sang at a local coffee house. And there were people there and everything. And it was terrifying and exhilarating all at once. When I was in grade one, I won the lead role in our class play, "The Little Red Hen". There were some singing lines in the show and, being in grade one, I was pretty open to whatever and gave it my all during my part. I will never forget it, what happened: the grade 8 boys at the back of the gym were laughing as I sang. They may have been laughing at something else, true, but I immediately assumed they were laughing at my singing and I have never quite been able to shake that memory. I've sung in public a few times since grade one, mostly in a group setting, but mostly the idea of it absolutely paralyzes me with fear. Funny...my occupation is primarily that of a public speaker...I have no problem talking in front of large audiences...but add music to that and I completely break down. Singing has always made me really Happy. I do it all the time when I'm alone, or when I'm with my peeps playing Rockband, and it's great fun. It's good for the soul. Lately I've been rediscovering my musical side. I sort of forgot about it for a long time, and it's quite thrilling to remember how fun it is. So thanks to some gentle encouragement from a good Friend, and Tulip's endless patience with me this week as I rehearsed daily, over and over, I did it. Plunged right into the deep end. I did three songs total: "People Get Ready", "Peaceful Easy Feeling", and "Puff The Magic Dragon" (Tulip picked that last one and harmonized with me!). I was so nervous before I went on that I was nearly sick, but I gritted my teeth and just went for it. And it was okay. I got through it. And most of all...I had a BLAST. What a rush!! I loved it, I'm so glad that I did it...it made me really really Happy. #goodtimesgoodtimes #365happydays A photo posted by @kaileyjane82 on Jul 24, 2015 at 9:09pm PDT
Day 360: Today Tulip and I are exploring a gorgeous OS gem known as "Moreland Place". I highly recommend a Google to get the full history of the home, grounds and the man who runs it all, Barry More, but in short, this property is the dream of a single person who wanted to make something really fantastic. The home you see just behind us was, believe it or not, constructed in the last fifty years or so. It looks 300 years old, and is built to give off that impression. It isn't open for general tours as it is a private residence, but Mr More always makes it available for our annual "Doors Open" event in early June and as such I've seen the inside. Inside the home is even more beautiful than the exterior. The grounds, however, *are* open to the public seven days a week. And may I just say...they are WORTH seeing. In the wild style of English gardens, there are spectacles to be seen around every turn. He makes all his own stonework, and does his own grounds keeping, and there is even a maze. I'll post some more photos in a moment. Right now, however, I'm just reflecting on the beauty of the day, the gorgeous serene gardens, and how lucky I am to live here and get to share this with such a good Friend. Pretty Happy today, Friends. #goodtimesgoodtimes #luckyhotdog #Moreland #365happydays A photo posted by @kaileyjane82 on Jul 24, 2015 at 9:58am PDT
