The girls played in the yard, but their restlessness and whining was gone. I could tell they felt satisfied -- the way you do when you've done something for someone other than yourself -- and they were made more content by the sunshine and crisp, cold air.

If you grow up believing that everything everywhere is attainable, life will really be hard to stomach when mom and dad aren't there.

If you weave gratitude and appreciation into your family's day-to-day life, happiness will occur naturally.

Before you decide that I am heartless and ranting, please understand that I wish happiness for my children. I just don't want them -- or me -- to see their happiness as my responsibility. It's not!

Do you push your kids? Do you let them quit? Do you encourage them to continue activities they don't particularly like? Is that even pushing them, or is it building character?

What if happiness was a habit that we could teach children? We can. Qualities that lead away from happiness and qualities that lead toward happiness are all rooted in habits developed in the past.