Hey BESTIE SQUAD! I’m Courtney Sharp, the lady behind the iPhoney over on Instagram @sharpcelebrations. I don’t have an eye for jaw dropping insta-photos, but I have an OBSESSION for capturing the REAL behind my day to day life because it is exactly what I’ve dreamt of for 25+ years!! I spend every waking moment finding new ways to celebrate the stage of life I’m in with my high school sweetheart, our 2 year old daughter, two dogs and our pig… getting to share bits and pieces of it all with YOU is just icing on the cake.
Hey everyone! I’m Courtney Sharp, an insta-blogger over at @sharpcelebrations and I am on a mission to create a life for myself with NO BAD DAYS.
This doesn’t mean I don’t show emotion when I’m frustrated or hurting.
And it doesn’t mean that I put a filter on my life for social media.
It simply means I put ALLLL of my energy into being positive!
It means I don’t wait for special occasions to present themselves, I create my own!
and…
It means I do my very best to not let my stress overburden my happiness!
Much like the saying,
“There’s no such thing as small actors, just small roles.”
I believe wholeheartedly that
There’s no such thing as bad days, just bad moments.
Have you ever noticed how quickly a child recovers from a bad experience?
The other day, our dog popped my daughters purple ball.
**Cue the horror movie music**
THIS WAS DETRIMENTAL TO AN UNEXPLAINABLE EXTENT!!!
She immediately began going through the 7 stages of grief…
Stage 1: Shock
Initially, she froze and stood with horrified eyes.
Stage 2: Denial
That was quickly followed by an ear piercing, “NOOOOOOOO!”
Stage 3: Guilt
As far as I could tell, she skipped right over stage 3. Nothing is ever a toddlers fault. Lol!
Stage 4: Anger
And then, without hesitation she wacked the dog right on the butt with her bubble wand.
Stage 5: Depression and Reflection
By the time I got to her, reality had hit. The ball was toast. It didn’t matter that we had 6 other balls within an arms-reach… The PURPLE one, her FAVORITE one, was lying in multiple pieces on the lawn. She was sobbing uncontrollably and her sweet pouty lip stuck out a mile long. As I gave her a big squeeze she kept muttering the words, “my…… ball…. broke…”
I told her that I was sorry that that happened, but that Sydney (our dog) was just trying to play with her and made a mistake, and that mistakes happen… yadayadayada, you know, those typical toddler “mom talks.”
Stage 6: Working through it…
I offered to help her pick up the pieces and throw them away, and as we gathered the plastic chunks off the grass she kept calmly saying, “Mommy, I sad.”
Step 7: Acceptance
We talked about how maybe next time we go to Target, (AKA, most likely tomorrow because, let’s be real here) we could find a new purple ball, but if not it would be okay because there are other awesome toys at our house to play with. Then we tossed the pieces in the trash and she waved “bye- bye” to them.
Within 5 minutes, she was snuggled up on the ground with Sydney (you know, the dog that had ruined her life just moments before) giggling uncontrollably.
When my husband got home less than an hour later, he was clueless of the tragedy that occurred in our backyard a short time ago. Blaire greeted him with an open arm run down the driveway and kiss on the cheek per the usual. It wasn’t until he asked where her ball was HOURS later that she even brought it up. She very much remembered what happened and told him how sad she was. But, the fact was that the ball was history so she had moved on.
As an adult, I know that if something as tragic as my two year old’s purple ball being popped would have happened to me… It could have very easily ruined my entire day, (possibly even week, because I am an overdramatic grudge holder!)
Without holding on to these things that are out of our control, we can instead recognize that there are so many ways we can make every day fun and special.
Because when it comes down to it,
You have to go about your day no matter what, so you might as well do it with a smile.
So here, I present to you,
The “Celebrate EVERY DAY Kick-Start Challenge.”
(Because it’s all about Baby steps.)
Day 1: Actively reflect on what’s weighing on your mind and heart the most.
Then… write/think about 3 ways to lift the pressure of your burden and …
INITIATE one of them immediately.
After that, move on. You’ve done what you can do.
Day 2: Create a new playlist.
All of those songs that pump you up and put a smile on your face. Put them in one place and JAM to that bad boy alllll dayyyy longggg.
Day 3: Schedule a party or social gathering within the next month.
Mark it on your calendar IN PEN.
There’s no need to wait for the next holiday or birthday, because every day is a reason to celebrate.
It doesn’t have to be elaborate or Pinterest worthy, just get together with those you love and ENJOY your time together.
Day 4: Go out of your way to be kind to someone you come in contact with.
Help an elderly person to their car from the bank. Offer to take a picture of a mom with her kids at the park.
Those little things can go SO far.
Day 5: Create a new family tradition.
Do it alone, plan it with your husband or get the entire family involved and think of something that you can do frequently.
Maybe you’ll decide to join the Taco Tuesday rave, or decide that from now on the entire family will go to check their mail on their bikes!
Make it silly, make it fun, make it simple, just make it something worth looking forward to.
Day 6: Challenge your entire household to a day of positivity.
No one is allowed to say anything negative.
It could turn silly with everyone being overly positive (which is fine!) but it will certainly and without a doubt make you think twice before speaking and change your mindset just a little bit.
Day 7: Make a list of things you are looking forward to.
Easy enough? YES… But, here’s the catch… it has to be more than just upcoming holidays and/or birthdays!
This is another great activity to do as a family, and it might surprise you what your children or spouse is excited about, giving you the opportunity to be more aware and possibly make it even MORE special for them to look forward to.
Let’s all wake up tomorrow morning looking forward to the day!
Looking forward to getting your baby up from their crib.
Looking forward to listening to the new Taylor Swift Song.
Looking forward to surprising your kids with ice-cream for dinner on a school night – say whaaaat?!
Looking forward to grocery shopping simply because it means you wont be scrambling the back of the pantry for something for dinner.
Let’s wake up every day and put all of our energy into being POSITIVE!
Let’s wake up every day and CREATE OUR OWN SPECIAL OCCASSIONS!
Let’s wake up every day and do our very best to not let our stress overburden our HAPPINESS!
Here’s to dedicating our energy towards a life with
NO BAD DAYS.
Cheers!
Courtney Sharp
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Danielle is the owner of Today's the Best Day. She strives to provide creative and uplifting content in order to enrich the parenting experience for women everywhere. Danielle hopes to help you and your family to make every day the best day! 
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