I don’t think it’s a secret that parents have the greatest influence on their children. Being a horse girl and a high school English teacher, I love the quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson that was made popular by the famous racehorse trainer Wayne Lukus, “The speed of the leader determines the rate of the pack.” If you want your family to be happy, self-confident, kind, resilient, brave, hard-working, goal-oriented, etc you need to be the lead the pack. As a mom of three young children, I know how hard this can be, and I have had to make a concentrated effort to push myself to learn and grow. Like I did, you might feel too busy or tired to take time for yourself and feel like it is selfish. I had to learn that in order to become a better example for my family, it is imperative that I put in the work each day and take strides to be the type of person that I want my kids to be. We are all human, no one is perfect, so it is a bumpy road that will be forever ongoing, but I am committed to trying and that has made all the difference.  

I have learned that it only takes a small amount of time and effort each day to feel better about myself. I know that when I make a concentrated effort to expand my thinking I am generally a happier member of my family. It can be really tough at times and it isn’t always comfortable to call myself out and to keep pushing when I am falling short. I often catch myself not being as kind to my kids or myself as I would like to be and have to stop myself because I consistently talk to my kids about treating themselves and each other like they would a best friend. If I can’t do it, how can I expect them to and who will show them how?  Over the last couple of years, I have been trying really hard to hold myself accountable and improve on my weaknesses. In short, I have been working to become a better version of myself and improve my overall wellness so that I can try my best to model health and happiness for my pack.

Lately, I have been focusing on doing at least one small thing in 5 simple areas of my life each day: Find motivation and inspiration, get moving, get healthy, give service, and set goals. Because of the name of this blog, I like to call this time in my day the “Happy Hour” because I always feel better once I have taken the time to focus my effort in one or more of these areas every day and I know they are helping me grow into a better version of myself each day.