December 21 Is Officially ‘Look on the Bright Side’ Day

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December 21 is National Look on the Bright Side Day. Historians say the day originated as a way to celebrate the winter solstice, which is the shortest day (and longest night) of the year.

Personally, I don’t think it’s any coincidence that Look on the Bright Side Day also falls during the time of year when you’re probably stressed to the max with holiday parties, cooking and baking, shopping for gifts, and wrangling kids into outfits they don’t want to wear for family photos.

Looking on the bright side certainly has its benefits. Simply put: It feels good to feel good. And there’s no shortage of studies touting that optimism can have health advantages.

But let’s be real: We moms often have to deal with stuff that is exhausting, annoying, or gross (and sometimes all at once).

If your kid barfs in your car today, I’d venture to say you’re going to have difficulty seeing the “bright side.”

But, as someone who actually does try to find the silver lining in every situation, I say it’s perfectly OK if your initial reaction to something is a so-called “negative” emotion. It’s human nature to feel frustrated, furious, disappointed, hurt, and irritated. To see the upside, sometimes you first have to give yourself permission to acknowledge when a situation just totally sucks.

And more importantly, you have to allow yourself to fully experience your emotions.

In a safe place, let yourself cry. Or yell. Or whine and stomp your feet. (In the case of the car vomit, I’d definitely be doing all of those things).

Whatever you do, don’t try to stuff it or ignore how you're feeling. That emotion will find its way out one way or another, and you know it will be at the most embarrassing or inconvenient time. Am I the only person who’s ever burst into tears at work or at the grocery store?

Here’s the awesome thing about feeling all the feels: Once you fully experience your emotions, you can release them.

And from that calmer space, you can deliberately shift to gratitude.

So if your kid does indeed puke in your car today, after you freak out and cry about how gross it is and feel frustrated about how difficult the clean-up is going to be, perhaps you can say to yourself, “I’m grateful that I even have a car my kid can barf in.”

Look on the bright side, mama! There’s always something to be grateful for.