The Return of LML Monday

Those of you who have been with me for a while might recall a thing I started a couple of years ago about wanting to see more LML (love my life) in the world, and less FML. (You know what that one means.) If you haven't read it, please go check it out.

Not long after the idea for LML, the idea for LML Monday came along. In a nutshell, it was all about focusing on life's little happy moments, finding reasons to smile, and trying to make Mondays suck a little bit less. If you haven't read that one either, please check it out too.

Sadly, LML Monday kind of died late last year. I lost momentum. It fizzled out. Things happened. More stuff happened. It wasn't that I stopped seeing the LML moments. They just never made it to the screen. And that always kind of made me sad, but I never did anything about it. Until now.

As I mentioned last week, I'm kind of at a point of new beginnings right now. (Or at least I'm trying to be.) So in keeping with that, I thought I'd try the revival of LML Monday that I've wanted to see for a long time. Join me, won't you? Let's see where it takes us. :)

I'll leave you with this, as we start the week...

Best. Day. EVER!

There's a scene in the beginning of the movie Office Space where the main character is complaining about his job, and says that ever since he started working, every day has been worse than the day before. So that every day you see him, it's literally on the worst day of his life. To which his therapist replies "Whoa. That's messed up." (It's a funny scene, and it sets up the movie well... but can you imagine living like that?)

Now, if you know me at all, or if you've read any of my previous posts, you probably know that this is far from how I view my life. And fortunately I live in a household where the same is also true. Sure, we all have our ups and downs, and everybody has a rough day now and then. But spend any time around my children, and it will be clear that they subscribe to the same LML philosophy that I do.

Ever since he was old enough to articulate it, my son, after any particularly fun day, would tell me "Mommy, this was the best day ever!" And of course as soon as my daughter started talking she followed suit. So a trip to the beach, or a birthday party, or a day at our local indoor amusement park (or any such excitement) would  not surprisingly win the "best day ever" prize.

That in itself was awesome, and has always made me smile. But here's the best part: It didn't take long at all before it wasn't just the "big exciting days" that brought declarations of it being the best day ever. Doing little things like visiting Grandma, or playing at the park, or playing Hot Wheels with Daddy would prompt it. And now, all it ever really takes is for us to be together as a family, enjoying each other's company.

No matter what we've done all day, nearly every night as we sit down to dinner, at least one of the kids will still look up at me and say (casually, but with sincerity) "Mommy, this has been the best day ever." And I can promise you that I never, ever get tired of hearing that.

It amazes me (and makes me happier than I can find the words to express) to have six- and four-year-old kids with that kind of philosophy. To believe that matter how good of a day you had yesterday, today is even better. To say that every day that you see me, it's literally on the best day of my life. I don't know about you, but that's the kind of life I want to live.

LML (Come join my movement!)

I admit that when I first saw the term "FML" popping up online - mostly in Facebook status updates - I had to look it up. I was hoping that it didn't mean what I was guessing it meant, but it does. (For those of you that  aren't familiar with it, the "ML" stands for "my life" and the "F" stands for something that I would never say in mixed company. Let's just leave it at that.)

I have to say I was a bit bothered by the term. Not just because it was crude - I could get over that, I suppose. But mostly I was bothered by how it was being used. "The vending machine was out of Diet Coke. FML." Or "There's nothing on TV tonight. FML." All I could say was... REALLY?! Those are the kinds of things in your life that are so catastrophic?! Please.

Granted, we all get frustrated from time to time. Life sometimes piles on the headaches, and there are days that the entire universe seems to be conspiring against us. I get it. Perhaps we all, in a moment of exasperation, have uttered some form of "I hate my freaking life" sentiment. It's easy to toss something like that out - one of those things that we just say to blow off some steam, but don't really even think about what we're actually saying.

The other day I caught myself doing just that. I was cranky, and feeling sorry for myself, and started to do a little bit of "woe is me" muttering. But then I actually stopped and realized what I was saying, and how incredibly wrong it was. No, my life doesn't suck, and no, I don't hate it. Quite the contrary. I love my life. A lot.

And that's when I started thinking. Although I've seen the term "FML" come up in people's posts - way more often than I'd like - I couldn't recall ever having seen anyone use "LML." I wondered if it was even a thing. (So I looked it up too. It is a thing - I'm not the first to come up with it. But it seems that it's not used nearly as often as its more negative counterpart.) It's as if we have reached a point that we are more willing to get melodramatic about the little negatives in our lives than we are to focus on the positives. And I would really like to see that change.

So I've decided to start a movement, and I invite you all to join me. Every now and then, stop and think about how much you love your life. Count your blessings, find your reasons to smile, and realize that the good really does outweigh the bad. And whenever you find something that reminds you how much you love your life... share it. Let others feel your joy, and share your smiles.

And as often as possible, end your Facebook status update with "LML!"