Memorial Day Weekend: I'm walkin' on sunshine!

This weekend was wonderful :) I'm starting to feel more acclimated to the singles ward and even made a few friends! I am grateful for friends: both old and new. Today I got up at seven thirty to help an older woman in my ward with her garden. I admit I was not incredibly enthusiastic until I got there at 8 and forced myself to smile and be pleasant. Immediately after that I felt so great! Not only was I helping her plant beautiful flowers, but I got to teach my little sister how to help too. By the time we left it was really hot and humid (90º and at least 80% humidity) but I still felt great. Then about 2 hours later we went swimming as a family and it was fabulous! I got a little bit sunburned on my cheeks, but other than that I was just so happy to be in the sun! Then tonight we had a BBQ with our good friends and neighbors and everything was so delicious. I had a great day.

Just a disclaimer: my life is far from perfect. There were definitely some parts of the day where I wanted to yell at someone, or push, or scream, or be really unhelpful, but I am trying right now to be a "Wise Optimist" (Henry B. Eyring) and acknowledge and address the bad things, but not to focus on them. This blog has now become the place for me to focus on gratitude so that I can be more happy and service oriented. So far it's turning out great! I've been a lot more patient and forgiving than usual, and I genuinely smile a lot more. I'd invite anyone who is looking to be a little more happy to try it.