Collect Beautiful Memories
A little jolt of joy today after a week that wasn’t bad exactly, just harder than expected. My whole family was together under one roof for a rare stretch, a genuine treat with two kids in college and two in high school, but the week still felt off, mostly because it was the first week of a new year, carrying all that unspoken pressure to start the year exactly right. When that didn’t happen the way I’d hoped, the week felt like a drag even though nothing was actually wrong.
What to do with a rough stretch
When a day, a week, or a month isn’t going the way you’d hoped, it helps to deliberately pluck out one gem, one bright spot worth focusing on instead of the general friction. You don’t have to pretend the hard parts weren’t hard. You just don’t have to stay fixed on them either.
A small moment worth keeping
My son, about to head back for his final college semester, was carefully loading the car the night before, very much his father’s type A, organized child. At dinner he announced, half-joking, that he was heading off to “collect some beautiful memories,” then started laughing at his own joke. He was poking fun at a letterboard sign I keep by the coffee pot, one I change out monthly, this month’s saying being exactly that phrase.
He meant it sarcastically. I meant it sincerely when I told him I genuinely hoped he would collect beautiful memories in his final semester. Words placed intentionally around a home, whether on a letterboard, a chalk wall, or wherever else, sink in over time, even when someone’s rolling their eyes at them in the moment.
A gentle challenge
As someone who spends most of my time helping people organize physical belongings, I’ll say this: beautiful memories are far easier to keep organized and uncluttered than stuff ever is. When a rough day arrives, pluck out your gem, collect the beautiful memory, and let that be what you hold onto.
Until next time, continue to choose joy.
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