Back in 2011, as a Christmas gift, my son Dalton who was a freshman in college at the time, decided to write a blog for me one night so I could take a night off from writing. It was posted back when my blog was only for my employees so none of you got to read it. I stumbled upon it tonight and remembered how amazing his post was, so I decided to share it with all of you because it is AWESOME!
(Post below written by Dalton in 2011)
At college there’s a lot going on all the time, and it’s a lot of fun, but sometimes it’s hard to find that thing you can have for yourself. Well my day starts out like most young college freshmen, I wake up to my alarm clock, which sounds more like an eighty-five year old woman who has recently lost her voice and now is speaking through a trumpet to clarify. That or a peacock from the Zoo, still can’t decide which is worse. Anyways wake up and debate whether I should go for a jog or not, look in the mirror, decide that my metabolism can keep me going for a few more years, and decide to skip the jog. I then go to the showers or as I like to call them, the communal bath. I call it this because I feel more like I’m in ancient Rome than in an old dorm shower room where the drains get clogged once a month and we have to wait for the cleaning crew to help us out. (No really, there’s this one shower that always gets clogged, but the cleaning crew avoids taking care of it so this one guy on our floor gets the plunger and unclogs it the unconventional way. I don’t use that shower.) The showers aren’t so bad, well as long as you get the good one. There are five showers. One gets clogged (I don’t even look at that one), one has this annoying shower rack that you smack your head on when you try and move at all, the third is bipolar and likes to jump temperatures on you (funny story on that one), the fourth has these dinky towel hooks so your towel is always falling off when you shower and it gets all wet, so that’s no good, but the fifth, oh the fifth is the most coveted of the showers. It’s always clean, the curtains are constantly washed, the towel hooks are perfect and can hold like five towels, and the drain is always spot free. Now you may think that I’m making a big deal out of one shower, but believe me when I say I couldn’t make a big enough deal about this shower. The guys on my floor fight about this shower like it’s the new girl on the playground, or the last roll of toilet paper till the beloved cleaning crew gets us some more. There is nothing more depressing than going in to the shower room, and seeing that the shower is occupied. This shower I speak of has the power to change a miserable day into a great one. There have been times when I was just done with school, and the world had worn me down, but then I go into the shower room, and I see that the Sacred Shower of Awesomeness and Wonder is available, and somehow things just seem brighter. Nothing starts my day off better than when I go in and see that my shower is there waiting for me. It’s like it’s saying “Good Morning Dalton, how are you this morning? Sleep well? Here’s some cookies and milk for you. I love you Dalton.” So it doesn’t actually have cookies and milk, but that would be genius if showers had a cookie oven and a fridge so I could have milk and cookies before I took a shower. (Dang it now I’m hungry!) Anyways, to bring back the focus on why this is relevant to all of you: it’s extremely important to find that thing in your life that gives you joy. Something you have to start your day off right. Nothings worse than waking up late, you look awful, you are in a bad mood, and things just aren’t going right for you. That’s why it’s vital to have something to counteract those days. Something you can have to change the course of your day. That shower, while it sounds silly, really just has a way of making me happy. It makes me feel like I just beat every other guy to my shower, and I get to enjoy my reward of not having water coming up from the drain or the temperature change on me (like I said, there’s a funny story about that). It’s simple, and definitely silly, but it works. I have yet to have a bad day when I’m able to shower in my favorite shower. What you need is to find something that you can have every morning that can make you happy. You need something that you won’t take for granted after a while, something that you appreciate and that instantly puts a smile on your face. Could be a person, an object, or even a place. Maybe it’s your favorite breakfast cereal, or maybe you like to see McDonald’s golden arches in the morning (I love seeing a McDonalds). Whatever it is, find it about you, and use it. Make sure you’re a happy person before you interact with others. It will improve yourself in every aspect of your life. You’ll be a better spouse, parent, friend, employee, son or daughter, whatever. And when you’re happy, then you’ll make other people happy too. ~Dalton [end of Dalton’s post]
What a great kid! Have an amazing day everyone! Be JOYOUS!
~Amy
