thoughts on mothering

With Mother’s Day this past weekend I’ve had several thoughts swirling around in my mind. Mothers strive to offer their children happiness. While there is endless meaning and factors that drive a mother, she always wants her child to he happy. A simple concept.

But what makes one happy? How does one offer the gift of happiness?

I suppose there are endless answers to these questions. There are several ways to offer happiness to your children or even to other loved ones. You can give them your constant attention, shelter them with love and affection, buy them material objects, travel to vast mountain tops or sandy beaches. The possibilities are endless.

I want my children to be happy, but I also want them to know that happiness does not come from material objects or being given what you want. Happiness comes from the heart. The best way for them to be happy is to see and feel happiness in our home. If I am happy then I am able to pass along my joy to my children. How can I parent and tell my children to be happy if I’m not happy myself? That equation just does not make sense.

I know the journey to happiness does not always come easy for everyone, and I feel blessed to have such happiness in my own life. The older I get the more I realize that it truly is the small moments in life that make you happy. Late Sunday dinners spent with family and friends where time slips away because you are lost in conversations. A round of baseball in the backyard that turns into tag that turns into firefly catching. Morning cuddles in bed and the sound of crisp pages of a new book held by your fingertips. The scent of vanilla and freshly picked apples that patiently wait on the countertop calling to be made into a pie. Late afternoons spent in the garden, with little helpers running circles and dogs laying on cool dirt grounds. Morning coffee in the backyard or late record player sessions in the living room.

These are not grand moments, but they are my moments. They are my moments of happiness. And it is in these small moments that I hope to teach my children the key to happiness.


I've been thinking about making Thoughts on Mothering a regular series here. Is this something that would interest you? Are there any topics that you would like to hear more on?


  1. Yes! I completely agree. And yes, I think every mother loves hearing and learning about other mothers' journeys in raising children. We have so much to learn from one another. Keep it coming! xx

    1. I know that I love hearing about other mother's experiences, whether it is positive or a struggle. It makes us stronger to learn from one another. xoxo

  2. Happiness is a tricky feeling for many people today, so many search long and hard to find it and sadly, never do. But if you can find it in the simple, quiet moments, in the little things that make your heart sing, then you have truly found it, and your children will too.

  3. I completely agree and would love to read more in a series of posts on motherhood. I actually text my husband at work today and said what a happy day our girls and I have had after such a great weekend. We didn't do anything spectacular but we did 'us' things. Lunch with my husbands family and coffee, a walk around a nearby town, time in the vegetable garden and some wood stacking together as a family is all sorts of happy for me! Look forward to reading more x

