How Saying Yes Brought Unexpected Joy

Maybe it was the guilt from being gone 3 days last week at a conference. Maybe it was Little Nugget taking a long nap that cancelled our afternoon park plans the day before. Maybe it was cause it was Tuesday, the only day of the week that we don’t have anything going on. Whatever the reason, I found myself saying yes when my 4 year old asked if we could have breakfast at the playground on Tuesday.

She was so excited.

When I left the gym that Tuesday morning, it was cold and foggy. Driving home, I was already thinking of ways I could get out of it. Legoland? San Diego Zoo? Fake an injury?

But it was the first thing she talked about when she woke up and I couldn’t bring myself to disappoint her. Once Dad was off to work, we grabbed some Starbucks breakfast and headed to the park.

It was cold. It was wet. It was empty.

It was fantastic.

The girls had so much fun. Ear to ear smiles the entire time. And with no other kids there, I could really hear their squeals of joy.

It made me realize that I say no to things too often. For really no good reason other than I don’t want to be bothered. Saying yes doesn’t have to be all the time. It doesn’t have to be daily. But saying yes can bring unexpected joy.

Was it hard to get to the playground at 8am vs. 3pm? Not really. In fact, it was way better with no crowds and a lot less stress.

Lesson learned for this Mom, that we open ourselves up to joy when we say yes. I made my kids happy which in turn makes me happy. We had fun. We got some exercise. We set a good tone for the day. All because I said yes.

You won’t find me saying yes to everything, everyday but it will serve as a reminder of what an impact it can have. That sometimes I need to stop and think before my knee jerk reaction of saying no because I could be missing out on some incredible memory making.