Opalite - Creating My Own Joy (March 2026 Recap)

I chose the word Opalite for 2026 because I love the meaning so much.  The word is the title of a song by Taylor Swift, and it means creating your own joy or happiness even when things aren’t going your way.  Life is full of ups and downs, so I thought this would be the perfect word to keep at the forefront of my mind as a constant reminder that there’s always something I can do to lift my own spirits.  And this manufactured joy doesn’t have to come from grand gestures or big events… most of the time it’s made in the small, everyday details. 

Here are some of the things I did in March to create my own joy…

 

-       I stopped to take pictures of beautiful things on my walks – flowering trees, greenery, blue skies with wispy clouds, and sunsets.  Springtime is just so picturesque!

-       I also sang and danced a little on my evening walks… the neighbors probably thought I was crazy, but… *shrugs shoulders*

-       It’s bumblebee season here, and they are just everywhere right now.  While I was washing our windows early on in the month, a little bee came up to the window and started thumping into it, so I stopped what I was doing and just watched it.  They are fascinating little creatures.  If you haven’t ever stopped to observe a little fuzzy bee, you should.

-       I went on lots of evening walks in March yet again and walking always makes me happy!  And even though I hate the time change in the spring, I do love the extra daylight because walking after dinner > walking before dinner.

-       While doing household chores and cleaning the mirrors and windows, instead of doing the standard spray lines, I used my window cleaner to draw little hearts and smiley faces on the windows.  Did it make my chores a little more whimsical?  It sure did!  And does that bring me joy?  Always.  A little whimsy goes a long way, friends.

-       One day, when we visited my upper cervical chiropractor, they were diffusing peppermint, and it smelled divine in the office.  So, what was the first thing I did when I got home?  I put peppermint in my diffuser, and I’ve been diffusing it all month.  It’s uplifting, it’s a clean scent, and it’s a crowd pleaser.

-       Monday after the time change, I snoozed one extra time to take some of the sting out of the rude, extra early wakeup call.

-       One weekend, our friar who moved away several years ago sent me the link to the Mass he had said in Washington DC that morning.  I love his homilies so much, and watching and listening to him brought me so much joy.

-       One particularly cold March evening, we had a beautiful sunset, and instead of staying warm inside, I bundled up and went outside to watch the sunset anyway.

-       I started listening to The Swiftie and the Scholar podcast after hearing about it from a friend, and it has been bringing me joy.  I rarely listen to podcasts, but I do love this one.

-       Brian and I made Manhattans one Monday evening just because.  We rarely drink during the week (unless on vacation), so it was a nice little treat.

-       I’ve mentioned this before here on the blog, and it’s nothing new, but I always start every single weekday listening to my favorite morning show – Elvis Duran and the Morning Show.  I’ve been listening to them every morning for more than 15 years and they always make me laugh and get my day started on a positive note.

-       One evening, I heard Clair de Lune wafting through the house, so I dropped what I was doing, and I went to sit with Jacob to watch him play.

-       I co-chaired the Mother Son dance at the kids’ school again this year, and before the dance started, my co-chair, Bianca, our DJ, Shaun, and our resource officer, Ray, all took silly photos with all the props while we were waiting for everyone to arrive.  Couldn’t let the kids have all the fun!!

-       Shaun and I also each took one of the rubber bracelets I’d purchased for favors for the dance to wear all night.  One of the styles had an error on it, making it sound ridiculous, so of course, that was the one we chose, and of course, he and I turned into a couple of teenagers making jokes about it all night.  Haha.

-       One of our neighbors drew a big hopscotch board on the sidewalk in front of their house, so of course, when I was on my walk, I stopped to do hopscotch instead of passing it by.  I also gave their front door a little wave in case they got me hopscotching on camera.  Hahahaha.

-       One evening, I paused my jog to stop and talk to our neighbor, Joe, who has been on a cancer journey.  I ended up catching up with him for about 15 minutes and had to cut my walk short because it was starting to get dark, but it was worth it to connect with him and get the good news that he is officially cancer free!  Hearing that someone is cancer free always brings me joy!!!!

-       We went to Disney World for the last few days of March, so I didn’t really have to create my own joy there because how can you not be joyful when you’re at Disney World?!

-       But the first day we were there, we were in Hollywood Studios, and Brian, Jacob, and Olivia wanted to ride Star Tours.  I hate that ride because it makes me feel claustrophobic, so I didn’t go with them.  Instead of waiting on a bench nearby, I decided to go explore, and I just happened to find Sully from Monster’s Inc.  Instead of waiting for the rest of the family to meet up with me, I went and took pictures with him all by myself.  Haha.  Because when at Disney, everyone is a kid at heart!  (And yes, when the family joined me afterward, we went to take pictures with him again.)

 

And that was March!

Happy Monday, y’all!