Before my kids headed out the door to their different schools, Malia said to Ryder, “Have a great day, Ryder. Good luck with your new dance class.”

Ryder lovingly responded, “Thank you, Malia. You have a great day, too. I hope you do well on your test.”

He then went over and gave her a quick hug.

It was right out of a Brady Bunch rerun. That perfect family moment that seems to only happen during 1970’s corny tv shows. Regardless, I took it all in. I savored that moment…cementing it to my ever diminishing memory banks. I’m still swimming in the deliciousness of that moment.

Why does it seem that we often focus on the negative moments? Rick Hanson, a neuropsychologist who wrote Hardwiring Happiness: The New Brain Science of Contentment, Calm and Confidence, explains that our brains are like velcro for negative experiences and teflon for positive experiences. Positive and negative emotions use different memory systems in the brain. He said positive emotions don’t transfer as easily to the long term memory the way bad emotions do.

So, one of the ways we can change that, is to really notice and take in those beautiful moments. Absorb it into every part of your being. Feel that positive energy running through your body.

Kurt Vonnegut sums it up quite eloquently by stating, “And I urge to please notice when you are happy, and exclaim or murmur or think at some point, ‘If this isn’t nice, I don’t know what is."