This week, we post a new personal growth tip or inspiration drawn from a recent Daily Dose of Happiness mailing.

Time flies, and already it's April Fools Day.  You can look forward to the warm caress of the spring sun or look back to all the things you planned to do in winter, but never quite got around to.  There certainly were plenty of those in our house.

But we also did a lot of things, visited a lot of people, had a lot of fun.  What little snow we got this year did get some use, even if we would have liked more.  We did get over to the arena a few times, even if not every weekend (and the girls did get their skating lessons).  And just before the snow melted, we finally got that winter campfire we kept meaning to do (not quite "once a week", but at least it was once!).

And now we have spring to look forward to.  To finish that stone path, set up the patio table and maybe this will be the year we tame the forest in the loop of the driveway (but you'll have to wait for October to know for sure).  Either way, spring and summer will be great for all the things we will do, regardless of the things we don't.

Don't be an April Fool. Look forward to another four seasons to enjoy.

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This week, we post a new personal growth tip or inspiration drawn from a recent Daily Dose of Happiness ezine mailing.

SOLUTIONS

Not bad.  Little sister is counting to 20 pretty much without error in English, French and Spanish.  It is so exciting to watch little kids grow and how their mind develops.  At this age she has made much of the leap from wanting to do the motions she sees others doing to wanting to achieve the results others are achieving.

As adults, this is something we should understand.  But it is not always so.  Sometimes we get territorial.  Does it matter who does something, or does it matter that it gets done?  The entire world of diplomacy is centered around endless negotiations over minutia of who does what rather than focusing on making sure that everything gets done.  Households can be like that, too. Many workplaces are like that.

What would happen if you stopped being concerned about who does what, and focused on what needs to get done?  Or maybe you already are like that. 

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This week, we post a new personal growth tip or inspiration drawn from a recent Daily Dose of Happiness mailing.

LEARNING

Life is a lesson.

A lesson in ethics, as we learn to do what's right.

A lesson in relationships, as we learn to work with others.

A lesson in creativity, as we learn to navigate new situations.

A lesson in self-control, as we learn to manage our actions and reactions.

A lesson in triumph, as we learn to survive unexpected events.

What lessons will you learn today?

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This week, we post a new personal growth tip or inspiration drawn from a recent Daily Dose of Happiness mailing.

Sometimes it can be frustrating.  Sometimes it can be exhilarating. 

Little Sister is good at this; she keeps doing whatever she is doing, oblivious to the little camera in my hand.  Over time, we will have a collection of memories of how she would act on a typical day at each stage of her growingupness - all the intonations, the favorite expressions, the sense of wonder and excitement. 

Little Lady meanwhile, is quick to perceive the camera and equally quick to become either a) and actor, carefully scripting her actions (no fingers in the nose!) or more often b) hamming it up with her face in the camera (so that's what a close up of a tooth looks like).

In the end, all the smiling photos won't mean as much as just a few minutes of real-life video footage of how the kids spoke and acted when no camera was present. 

Embrace reality; it is beautiful.

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