We have a wall hanging that says “And I think to myself what a wonderful world.” My plan is to hang up pictures representing all of our family adventures and vacations around this sign. I think it’s the perfect focal point to display the wonderful places we have traveled.
However, I’ve been too busy to hang the rest of the pictures up, and often times when I’m home, the last thing I want to do is spend my time hanging pictures. Yet, each day I walk in and out of our house and see this sign – the one I had to have – and I’m reminded every day I have the opportunity to make the world around me a better place.
Smile More, Worry Less
This includes making my family’s world better. As I sat here and reflected on the year and look forward to 2019, I challenged my family to help me think of ideas to make a difference in the world around us. We may not be able to change the entire world, but with these ideas, we can make a small difference each and every day.
- Worry less: This is my husband’s challenge to me. He told me I tend to look for all the things that could go wrong and really don’t look for what could go right. This is definitely a fault of mine. Even though I believe I’m generally a positive person, I still find time to worry.
- Smile often: Both of our daughters said we can smile more often and not just smile at our home more, but in our daily routines.
- Bicker less: Our kids can find anything and everything to bicker about – even asking for help on this blog resulted in bickering! I think this will be difficult for our children to figure out, but nonetheless, it’s something we all need to work on.
- Spend more time with extended family: Over Thanksgiving, my friend and I discussed how important grandparents are in the lives of our kids. Also, reading Nancy’s blog, “Bonding From Generation to Generation” resonated with me. We need to find more time to visit not only our parents and grandparents, but also aunts and uncles.
- Spend less time on technology and read more books: My husband set a goal of reading one book every week in 2018, he didn’t reach his goal but still read 40 books. This in itself is a feat considering all that’s on my husband’s plate – he found the time to read and read often. Yet, for our son to suggest this is probably an indication that we spend too much time on technology.
Making the World a Wonderful Place
Even with all of the noise around us, we have the opportunity to make our world a wonderful place. Often times, I struggle because I want to leave an impact on the entire world; when in reality, I just need to start right here at home. As we look forward to a new year, new beginnings, a new chapter in our stories, I challenge you to find simple ways to make your home and the world around you wonderful.
Shelly Mowinkel
K-12 & Teens
My husband and I have three kids. Our oldest is a freshman in high school, and our youngest is in second grade. Most days, I feel like we are a “tag-team chauffeuring” service, yet I wouldn’t have our life any other way. Not only I am a business/technology teacher at Milford, I am also the district technology integration specialist. I love teaching because I get the opportunity to make those around me better. My hope is that, through my blogging, I am able to inspire, encourage, and share with you my adventures of being a wife, mother, and professional.
