Finding and Choosing Joy

I love springtime in DC. Spring generally kicks off with the beauty of the Cherry Blossoms. It is simply my favorite time of year.

The blossoms have a special place in my heart. My children’s birthdays are in April and May and the tradition of going to see these stunning trees has been a way for me to kick off the birthday season for them. It has always been the time of year where we make the trek down to the tidal basin to march all over the place and then I proceed to take way too many pictures of them. You know, because that’s my mom duty. I have so many fond memories as well as funny ones that I like to reflect on each year with them.

This year, the kids did not want to join me. There was a part of me that thought, “damn it, I don’t ask for much and all I want is for you to join me for pics and for our tradition.” But then I decided to accept that this tradition is not their thing, it’s mine. The kids stated that it wasn’t super important to them. This stung and hurt my mama heart, but I get what the kids are saying. After thinking about it, I could not bring myself to make anyone do anything they don’t want to do.

So, I chose to go and experience my favorite thing on my own. It was magical.

I went down the tidal basin for hours and just walked and walked. No agenda. Two sunny, low humidity perfect DC afternoons were filled with wonder and awe. I stopped to admire the trees and soak in nature. It was wonderful to be with tourists who had made their way back to DC. It warmed my heart to see smiles on strangers faces and they meandered around.

During my time down there, I allowed myself to just get lost in the day. The experience this year was one of pure joy. There was no time constraints, no agenda, and I could get lost.

As I mentioned earlier, my family has a few birthdays in the spring. In my heart, this time of year has often felt like my own personal new year and during this time, I like to revisit commitments I had made to myself in Janaury. I have renewed sense of these commitments and one of these commitments is to allow for more down time and have more fun and experience a little more joy. Now, not everyday will be filled with hours that I can aimlessly walk around town or be filled with Cherry Blossoms, but I am committed to figuring out how I can fit a little joy into each day. In the last week, I invited a friend over to watch Bridgeton (season 2 is out and it’s amazing), I spent time reading outside, I took my son out to dinner and we chatted about different things. I am trying to allow for more downtime in order to experience more joy and fun. And for me, it’s about finding joy in the small moments. My commitment is to make this a daily practice, like meditation, journaling and movement are for me.

I am committed to this practice until the first day of summer and then will take a look back to see what I have learned, felt, and witnessed.

How do you experience fun? Do you find joy in the small moments? Do you have commitment to yourself this spring?

Wishing you a joy filled spring. XO