The idea of keeping a happiness jar has been bouncing around the Internet for months. I first encountered the idea on Facebook. Other posts supported the idea. “I’ll do it,” I said to myself. “Documenting happiness will be fun.” On January 2, 2015 I put my first piece of paper in a wide-mouth Mason jar. It says: “John on zero gravity machine. Looks like his left leg is starting to work.”
The note doesn’t convey the importance of the message. My husband’s aorta dissected in 2013 and he had three emergency operations. During the last one, 13 hours of life-threatening surgery, he suffered a spinal stroke and it paralyzed his legs. After being in the hospital for eight months he was dismissed to my care. A year and a half later he started rehabilitation and the results are stunning.
Thankfully, I have almost 18 years of caregiving experience to draw upon. I was my mother’s family caregiver for nine years and she had dementia. I was my twin grandchildren’s co-guardian and caregiver for seven years. But being my husband’s caregiver is a different story because I’ve never cared for a disabled person before. Still, there are happy moments to document and savor.
So I am keeping two happiness jars, one about my daily life, and the other about caregiving. You may wish to keep a caregiving happiness jar too, or may be keeping it already. How do you go about it? The idea comes from Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love. She offers some tips in a repost of her article, “Happiness Jar” on the Sacred Folly website. Here is a summary of her instructions.
- Get a large jar or box.
- Write your happiest moment of the day on a small piece of paper.
- Stick the paper in the jar.
- Do this for a year.
- When the year ends, empty the jar and review your life.
Gilbert has been doing this for a long time and loves it. She considers her happiness jar “the whole point of this life.” A happiness jar is also a way to document your life. Without the jar, you may forget these small, meaningful moments of the day. Unlike Gilbert, I don’t write down the happiest moment of the day, I write down several happy moments, a sort of gratitude journal in a jar.
My approach helps me see the positives of life and makes me aware of my blessings. Right now, the notes in the caregiving happiness jar fall into these categories: 1) my husband’s health, 2) daily life, and 3) our family. Future notes may generate additional categories, but the categories aren’t as important as writing the notes. Though I’ve only been doing this a short time, I’m amazed at the benefits of such a simple task.
I am reminded, yet again, that I have an amazing life.
What’s in my caregiving jar? A note about my husband’s health says “John had an amazing rehab session – left leg almost working on its own.” The note doesn’t say my husband seems to be a miracle in the making. A note about daily life says “John loved his lunch – chicken salad with dried cranberries and almonds and warm peanut butter cookies.” The note doesn’t say I love to cook and especially love cooking for my husband, the care receiver.
Right now, the caregiving jar is smaller than my other jar, but I expect this to change. In the months to come, I think the reverse will be true, and the caregiving jar will be the larger one. Being my husband’s caregiver defines my life, and I’m documenting this life with words. Your situation may be similar to mine. Have you been thinking about keeping a happiness jar? If so, make it a caregiving happiness jar, written proof of your life, what you do in a day, and most important, that caregiving is love in action.