9 Readers Share Their Happy Moments
To remind ourselves how much good is in this world, we asked readers on Instagram to share photos of joyful moments. Here are nine that made us smile…
Above: “While heading over to a neighbor’s house, I realized my kids and I were all in stripes, and my husband snapped this photo with everyone smiling. Proof of (happy) mom.” —Layne
“Seeing my novel! In actual shops! It’s called Creep: A Love Story and comes out in the U.S. later this month. (The U.K. title is different.) I wrote it over many years — with a full-time job and two children — and still can’t believe I did it. Someone told me they’d ordered a copy to *the* Books Are Magic. I could hardly contain myself.” — Emma
“My husband’s barber gave our 22-month-old son, Omari, his first haircut. I caught on camera the moment he saw himself in the mirror, looking so proud.” — Sarah
“I’ve taken up needle felting, a popular handicraft where I live in Kyrgyzstan. The top photo shows the moment I finished my first tapestry. It was late, and my mirror was smudgy, but I couldn’t wait to photograph the finished result. It’s been a delight to find my artistic medium at nearly 40, and the work has been a welcome break from ::gestures:: all of this.” — Dot
“We adopted Walter — the big fluffy cat with outstretched arms — exactly a year ago. We found him at a Manhattan shelter, bone-thin, sick, and stressed. His foster mom assured us there was a good cat lurking inside. After several months of him biting and scratching both humans and his cat brothers, we wondered if we’d made the wrong decision (I’m sorry, Walter!). But he just needed a little extra time. Look at him now. Cats can change, and it gives me hope that humans can, too?” — Tricia
“My two-year-old daughter, Margrete, was recently prescribed glasses. Our family’s new delight is hearing her proclaim, with sincerity and surprise, ‘I can see!’ every morning when I put them on her.” — Holland
“I snapped this photo on Thanksgiving Eve, which was our first holiday as a family of six. My husband and I got married this past summer, blending our four kids into one big, messy, love-filled crew. When I got divorced, the hardest part was letting go of the shame-driven idea that I had ruined our ‘family.’ But somewhere along the way, ‘family’ started to feel less like a fixed idea and more like something that could change and grow. Then the real magic happened: watching all four kids fall in love with each other. It’s the gift of my lifetime.” — Danielle
“My friend and I recently traveled to Quebec. As soon as we arrived, we strapped on cross-country skis and made our way through soft, powdery snow. I was so filled with joy that I dove into the snow to make a snow angel, something I hadn’t done since childhood. Now, when I start feeling down, I look at the photo and feel light all over again.” — Thaïs
“Two years ago, I sent in a selfie of my son and me at school drop-off. Now, I can’t help sending another. I’m holding onto these kids and their relentless joy. May we all find happiness every day, even if it’s making an aggressive phone call to the White House comment line (202-456-1111).” — Katherine
What joyful moments have you had recently? We’d love to hear.
P.S. 11 more readers share happy moments, and “my favorite part of my wedding.”
Tags: reader comments, reader outfits
Comments
131 commentsMy five year-old daughter is currently obsessed with Finding Nemo and a book series called Zoe’s Rescue Zoo. She and I have favorite lines from each and she’ll pull them out at the most random times. “Mama, can I tell you something?” she’ll say, and I’ll expect something relevant to what we’re doing but instead she busts out, “Hello Bruce!” or “Aw, you guys made me ink!” complete with the proper accent and we both dissolve into giggles. It’s the best!
My 14-month-old, who’s usually a good sleeper, woke up around 4am last night, crying. As I sat in his room, his head resting in the hollow of my neck and his little fingers stroking my face as he started to fall back asleep on my chest, I felt so happy. My journey to motherhood was not a straight line, and in the quiet moments in the middle of the night, despite the fatigue and everything else that comes with being a parent, I feel indescribable joy.
Love Danielle’s comment. I am in a lovely 1.5 year relationship post divorce and we just had a great hike talk (where we seem to have our best talks!) this weekend about the careful making of a new family configuration that we are slowly embarking on. We each have one pre-teen child, so hoping at some point in the next couple years, the four of us will have found our stride (sometimes? know these things are forever works in progress). Thank you for the inspiration Danielle!
Loving all these! And then I noticed Katherine’s puffer patterned with farfalle pasta which made me smile even more :) My joy this week has been finding out that the bank has approved my mortgage to buy an apartment I had great hopes for, and seeing some progress on the two kittens we have adopted back in October. One of them is much like Tricia’s Walter, she was hissing and scratching us for a long time and only recently started to even begin to be near us and being a bit more trustful. She usually gains more courage when her sister kitten is on our lap, so she comes near us then, but yesterday for the first time she jumped on the couch next to us without the other kitten being there. My partner and I exchanged silent beaming smiles not to scare her away. Such a joy! Slowly getting there.
Gah! So many COJ posts make me teary, you’d think I’d have learned by now to have tissues at hand. Every story here is delightful! Thank you for these gifts. I went immediately to my local Canadian library website to find Emma’s book, but it is not to be found (yet). Emma, will it be released in Canada, and if so, when? So excited for you! Congratulations!
Hello Nic! This is so kind of you. I probably should know more about this, but to the best of my knowledge, it will be out under Creep: A Love Story in Canada from next Tuesday- so perhaps leave it a couple of weeks and try again? Requesting that your library buys in a copy wherever you are is also a surefire way to support a debut author! <3 xxx
For so much of my childhood and life, I was striving. Striving to excel in school, get a better job (and better, and better) and bring my mom out of poverty. Then striving to let go of that dream when she passed, and then continuing to strive for myself. Yesterday, I realized, I’m not striving anymore! I’ve arrived. I have a wonderful husband who loves and supports me endlessly, a wonderful group of friends and created/found family, I’m currently traveling and exploring, and life is just… good. Wow!
Love this! So happy for you, and your comment is a reminder to take stock of how far we’ve come and appreciate the good things in life.
I love all these joyful photos! Such rays of light in these dark times.
My sweet mama died this week after a week on comfort care and hospice. It was a happy’ish moment when she took her last breath because her death labor was over. It was hard and she was brave (so was I). Her happy moment (oh how I hope it was happy and celebrated in another realm) was my agony. I am reminded that often times the hard thing and the right thing are the same. Just because it’s hard, doesn’t mean it isn’t a happy blessing to someone. xx
What a beautiful perspective in the face of an incredibly difficult moment Amanda. I too hope your mom is being celebrated in another realm right now. Sending you lots of love as I know you must miss her even if you know it was the right time to say goodbye.
Amanda, sending love! I know it was a big celebration for your mom when she “arrived.”
I love this post! Also I love Layne‘a striped shirt!! Anyone know where it’s from?!
Hey Lexy! I generally try to avoid Amazon but I just loved this short! Here’s the link! I sized up by 1 size! https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0D2LDVTRY?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title
These photos! These amazing, regular, beautiful women! I’m all teared up after getting to share this peek into your gorgeous, normal lives. xoxo
I finally emptied my box of papers to be shredded and had the repair person out to look at our broken ice maker in our refrigerator. Both of these tasks feel monumental.
KATHERINE’S PASTA PUFFER!!! I just played pickleball with some girlfriends over lunch break and we’re not good, but it is SO FUN to move your body and learn a new game just for the hell of it. Already reserved a court for next Friday.
My joyful moment was fully embracing love from my friends at my birthday party a couple weeks ago. Before we ate cake, my partner called everyone together and asked everyone to just say a couple words on how they knew me and something they appreciate about me. I was wearing a cute outfit, we had candles lit around the house (inspired by Jo’s recent party!!), and I got to hear my friends say the kindest things about me. Such a special night! Plus my sister flew in and surprised me right before everyone arrived! Just a good reminder – tell the people you love that you love them. AND WHY!!! It might be the thing they comment next time Cup of Jo asks for joyful moments! :)
I love all of these! Emma, I can’t wait to read your book, it sounds right up my alley :)
Wow thanks so much for this! So helpful in these dark days to see all these joyful beauties.
Everyone of these made me smile. I have a similar photo of me and my kids all in stripes. :) The cat! The little girl in the glasses! First haircuts! All so sweet. ps-I agree with others who said to do these posts monthly!
THAT TAPESTRY IS GORGEOUS OH MY GODDD
Truth!! That is amazing! Well done 🙌
I love ALL of these posts, building chosen families, and yes, the tapestry is SO gorgeous!!!!!!! I just love it! Finally this CoJ community is the greatest – thank you, Joanna and all of you here!
I love these comments (and the picture of Walter — so great)! I feel sheepish that this deeply mundane amenity is a source of joy, but I’m delighted that my printer is working and I now have double-sided printouts.
As someone who is still dealing with my $20 pandemic-panic-purchase of a second-hand printer that has *never* had a really functional paper feed, I see and acknowledge your joy! Let’s always appreciate the little things that make the day go smoothly.
I’m not crying…you’re crying!…OK I’m crying just a little and it’s those heart-swelling tears that I get whenever I witness an adult dancing with reckless abandon. There is still so much good out there. Take heart.
Preach, friend.
My husband had to stay late at work yesterday, and my two-year-old was sad he wasn’t home. I said “Dad will be home soon, and mama’s here!” and she patted my arm and kissed me and said “I’m glad you’re here.”
Nothing better.
The last photo!!! The joy on their faces…and the puffer coat with farfalle pasta is giving me life!
Moments of little joy: my (almost) 3 year old has started saying “I want Mama FOREVER” and giving a big snuggly hug in moments where she is feeling extra cuddly. (This is also joined by “I want Dada FOREVER” or “I want [insert our cats name] FOREVER” depending on the moment). Every single time I hear it my heart melts, especially since we are on the rollercoaster of BIG FEELINGS of Toddlerdom so much of the time. Words from a pure heart <3
Long live Walter and his mates. Loving and caring is the answer. Long life to those who care for traumatized animals. The payoffs are huge. Also love snow angel in Québec (made me miss home).
FYI – for US readers, Goodreads is currently having a giveaway of Emma’s book!
Oh I am on it! Thank you.
I really needed this today. I did a presentation today at work and was really not happy with how it went. I keep thinking about it and it has kept me up all night. These happy moments are calming my nerves. Thanks.
Amy – I suspect every single person who reads your comment is shuddering with the memory of their own work thing that went sideways. And then realizing its been ages since they thought about it because, in the scheme of things, it’s not the stuff that matters.
Ugh, Amy, isn’t that the worst?! I memorized that whole Ralph Waldo Emerson “finish each day and be done with it” passage by basically reciting to to myself every time I started to ruminate over a certain…well, you know what? I am not even going to get into it! I am sure I am the only person still thinking about it, as you may be the only person judging your presentation so harshly. You’ve learned what you can from that presentation; be done with it. Enjoy your weekend!
I used to be like you, Amy: staying up all night, fretting over work. Then, gradually, I realised that the issue that kept me up all night almost always sorted itself out the next day. After that, I stopped fretting and knew peace.
Tons and tons of congrats, Emma. I’m manifesting your ‘happy moment’ for myself.
Manifesting for you too! You can do it!
Thank you so much.
A recent moment of joy: My 2 year old looking in the mirror and exclaiming “Mama, look at my honky nose!” I think we must “honk” her nose as she toddles by and it stuck with her haha
Omg this is so cute!
Who else wants to xc ski in Quebec now? 🙋♀️
Me!!!
I would love a profile of Dot! Just the coolest!
On Monday at our all-school meeting, the head of school announced that I had been selected as the new middle school principal and my fellow faculty gave me a round of applause. I hadn’t expected such enthusiasm and, as my middle school kids would say, “I felt seen.” I’ve had some tough years of late but I am happy and grateful and really proud of myself in this moment.
Congratulations! This is huge! xx
Okay I have an idea for a book that has been running around in my head for the last few months, seeing another mum of two with a full time job do it is EXACTLY what I needed! My moment of joy was in one of the (many) class wattsap groups where a parent introduced themselves as ‘mum of X, lover of owls and dump trucks’ and I immediately thought, oh I know that kid!! I just love how fully engrossing interests are for toddlers (and parents who totally embrace them).
This *all* made me smile. Katherine— your jacket is chef’s kiss amazing!
My almost 8 year old daughter and I took a needle felting class together and it brought me so much joy seeing her shine in that space while sharing laughs and ideas together- and also really cool as a parent to be a beginner and learn something new in her presence so she can see that I have to work hard too!
Thank you for this. As a new federal employee this past year, these recent weeks are not what I envisioned. I’ve been deleting emails without reading them. Take that, Elon Musk. One joy for me this past week is that my sons enjoyed their first school dance. I loved that I called my spouse to tell them to have fun (she was taking them/chaperoning), and their reaction was “that’s so weird!” 10 year olds. I loved the normalcy of the moment amidst what seems so chaotic to us adults.
Thinking of you Amy- my fiancé is also a federal employee in his probationary period. All the unknowns are very scary! I’m glad your kids had a good time ☺️
Amy, I’m thinking about you today. Thank you for choosing to work in federal service. My husband is a long-time fed, but is in a probationary period through April due to a series change. The stress is intense. I’m glad you had a moment of normal.
Congrats Emma! Not sure what your book will be called in Australia but I gave your name and both titles to my local library and they are going to put in a purchase order, so with any luck, loads of people where I live will be reading you soon! Also you are now my inspiration to get my own damn novel out of my head… maybe one day I’ll be a happy place photo like yours (and you can ask your library to order in my book, haha). Cheers!
AUSTRALIA, Amy!!!! The thought is too delightful for words (I think it’s This Immaculate Body in Aus). Thank you so much for ordering it to your library, and I will most CERTAINLY order yours in to my local library once it’s written and published!! You can do it.
I knew Katherine could find joy in everyday life…who else wears a bow tie pasta jacket! Love it.
Margrete- I feel ya, girl. Every morning I’m still amazed when I put on glasses and the world comes into focus again!
Walter! What a good name. There is just something about hundred plus year old names for children and animals. My 3 year old is named Walter and our animals are George, Howard and Leon.
I started thinking through the top 10 days of the year – cannot keep to 10! But reliving the joy helps. This last year watching beach volleyball at the olympics underneat the Eiffel Tower! I knew it would be amazing but was worried it wouldn’t be as amazing as my imagination and yet it was!!!!!
Love all of these! I used to wear stripes or a navy blue hoodie and end up inadvertently matching with my boys all the time when they were little. Today I’m wearing a graphic t over a turtleneck which was a staple of their wardrobes from ages 3-8 and mine from my 30s to 50s.
The barbershop photo!!! Makes me so happy to see dad and son both so proud of themselves and their haircuts. Reminds me of the picture book Bippity Bop Barbershop by Natasha Tarpley – Sarah, you should definitely buy it or grab it at the library for your guys!! <3 love, a children's librarian (maybe you already know about it, anyways haha)
Omari enjoying results of first haircut is killing me with cuteness!!! Just what I needed on a freezing day during these dark times, thank you 💛
Riiight? Both gents in the shot are so photogenic!
The photo of Walter touches my heart! We adopted two cats in late 2020 as kittens. Bean immediately accepted us as his new parents, but Mackerel took more time to get comfortable. It’s been so amazing to watch him slowly drop his guard and blossom more and more. Now our sweet Mack likes to stretch out belly-up just like Walter, and I think, this formerly guarded and nervous boy must be so at ease now! It’s a great feeling.
I actually stumbled on a copy of Emma’s book on a Brooklyn stoop on my walk to work and absolutely devoured it!! I’m not sure what kind of pre-release magic put it there, but Im so happy I found it- congrats Emma!
This is true magic!!!!
Oh, how needed this post is! It filled me with joy. THANK YOU 🥰
Amen!!!!
Thank you for this post. Definitely needed some good news today. :) Can’t wait to read Emma’s book.
I am sitting in a hospital waiting room while my mother is having a risky surgery that could last up to 10 hours. The weather has prevented family and friends from coming to sit with me. And despite their kind texts, I just haven’t seemed to find reason to hope. I couldn’t keep tears from welling up in my eyes. But reading these happy moments and the happy comments, I feel a little lighter. It is so wonderful to be reminded of the joy in the world by the lovely CoJ community.
We are rooting for your mother and you Jeanne! xoxoxo
Jeanne, we’ll be thinking of you and your mom! Imagine all the people here in the comment section sitting next to you in the biggest bestest most positive-energy filled waiting room rooting for your mom : ) PS: If you need sugary tea or a sandwich, some of us have some homemade ones with us for you!
Sending you and your mom strength and love 🫶
Thinking of you, Jeanne!
Sending you lots of ❤️❤️❤️
Hoping the surgery went well and that you can feel us cheering you on.
I’m really hoping it went as well as it possibly could have, Jeanne! Much love to you and your Mama.
Sending you much love and support. Hope everthing went well.
Jeanne, I am thinking of you and sending love to you and your mom. That surgery waiting time is the worst! Hope she’s recuperating and doing well!
I saw the picture of Katherine and immediately thought she looked familiar, then read the post saying she had submitted a picture before. COJ frens stay with us! hehe
I realized the other day I’ve been reading CoJ for 16 years!!! It’s still the best place on the world wide web. 😊
In the blog, we all fam! (With thanks to Broad City https://www.google.com/search?q=in+da+club+we+all+fam&rlz=1C5CHFA_enAU959AU964&oq=in+da+club+we+all+fam&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyCQgAEEUYORiABDIKCAEQLhixAxiABDIHCAIQABiABDIHCAMQABiABDINCAQQLhivARjHARiABDIHCAUQABiABDIHCAYQABiABDIHCAcQLhiABDIHCAgQLhiABNIBCDI1NDNqMGo3qAIAsAIA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:52a40e2e,vid:umvJQXZlSHw,st:0)
Same here, Emily!
Wow, ALL of this warms my heart so much. There is just so much love and feeling good in these stories. And: Omari’s pride is adorable, but his Dad’s face is even more so!
Wait, I forgot to also add: Emma, your book sounds SO good and I might have to break my own “no creepy books” rule to read it! That picture of Omari and Sarah’s husband is SO cute. Yes to chunky little cheeks at first haircuts!
Justine!!!!! You are so kind!
I was just thinking of how much I loved those chunky little cheeks in the haircut pic. My son had the cutest, pillowy, cheeks until a year ago (11). Now he towers over me at 5ft 8 in, is stick thin, has some wispy hair on his upper lip, and a head full of wild, unruly, beautiful curls. I can see the man he will be peeking out at me and sometimes it takes my breath away.
UGH each one of these is so beautiful! I needed this today!
Because of the photo I read this as “9 Readers” – as in readers of books – and was excited for a crazy specific post!
Me too!!
Me three!
Me three! Lol
And me too :-)
Margrete’s sweet face and happy daily proclamation brought tears of joy to my eyes. What an absolute sweetie! I LOVE these posts and would happily read one every week :) thank you Jo and team for spreading some joy amongst your readers <3
Two great silly ones! This past year I had not one, but TWO clients say to me at the end of a video call, “I wouldn’t normally comment on a person’s appearance, but did you know that you look so much like Jennifer Garner?” Jennifer Garner has been my celebrity crush for YEARS and this made my day and continues to make my day. And then a couple days ago my husband came home from work and mentioned that a colleague had sent around a “Which Bridget Jones character are you?” survey. I said to him in a panic, “Oh my gosh please tell me you’re not Daniel Cleaver.” And he looked at me and said, “No, I’m Mark Darcy.” SMILES FOR MILES. Signing off, looking like Jennifer Garner and married to Mark Darcy! :D
Layne, I have this exact photo of myself and my daughters, around the same age as your children here, because we’re all wearing stripes. Classic! They never go out of style.
Congratulations on your book Emma! It sounds like a great story. It’s going on my TBR.
Thank you so much, Belle!!
I loved this post. That said, I wish to respectfully and gently push back against the chorus encouraging Dot to sell her work. I am obviously not speaking for Dot here – maybe she wants to sell her work! But capitalism insists that every single thing we do have “value,” and that always means monetary value. But there is value in people (especially women) simply making anything with our hands – anything at all! – even if it doesn’t represent traditional capitalistic “value,” and even if we don’t sell it. Plus, taking something you love and turning it into an Etsy store often results in that same love vanishing. So if you love and are inspired by Dot’s work, maybe handcraft something beautiful that you can display proudly!
You are so right!
Thanks for these words, Elizabeth! It’s been nice to do something just “for me” without pressure. Who knows what the future will bring (I’m a federal employee, so we will see…), but for now since I’m so new at this, I’m still practicing. There’s so much value in creating purely for the process.
Adding to this, I almost guarantee no one wants to pay fairly for it. My mother makes quilts and the materials total about $400 and the labour would be up around $1000. People want to buy one until they find that out.
Thank for this, Elizabeth! Beautifully said. And I would add that this is equally true regardless of gender! 💕
Yes, yes, yes
yes! I get this a lot for my knitting. While making sweaters or socks from a pattern someone else has designed is not the same as fibre art, it still takes many, many hours and years of practise to accomplish and nobody would ever pay even close to enough to compensate for my time alone. So in defiance of capitalist logic of exploitation I only give them as gifts, or if someones asks me to make them something I ask them to give me something else in return.
Dot, I am in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan and would love to learn needle felting! Would you be open to connect? hannah_the_hamburger on instagram!
A dear friend turned 60 a month ago and my bestie and I decorated my house for a surprise birthday party (don’t panic; it wasn’t a SURPRISE surprise – it was all good). I finally decided I should take down the decorations, but the gillion balloons I blew up just wouldn’t quit and I could not bring myself to pop them. So now my floor is covered in these beautiful drifting balloons and I shoosh through them like fall leaves every time I walk through the house. The best part? Everyone who comes over lights up, no matter who or how old. Such a small but terrific thing.
I love this! Our family members birthdays are spread throughout the year. We always blow-up a bunch of balloons along with other decorations. We put away the decorations, but the balloons get to stay until they’re dead. There are always a couple lurking in the corners for a flagging afternoon.
I think I found the pasta parka! https://rachelantonoff.com/products/parker-puffer-pasta Reminds me of my two year old who wants to wear his pasta jammies 24/7. ❤️
You can rent it on Nuuly!!! xo
this is perfection and just what we needed! Margrete,you glow girl!! I’m not a cat lover but Walter enjoying his new good life-my heart! Googling needle felting classes near me
I love post like this SO MUCH!
This made my day! Love this!
Lovely, but … I struggle, Trump hanving just sold us Europeans to Putin with his Ukraine “deal”. More (and much better worded than I could) here: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/feb/13/donald-trump-vladimir-putin-ukraine-us-europe
He’s sold our entire country to Musk, so, I feel your pain, albeit in perhaps a different way.
Anne, this sentence really nails it: “Now we see that Trump not only bullies his country’s friends but sucks up to his country’s enemies.” Ugh.
Gosh, I needed this. Thank you beautiful folks for sharing your moments of happiness! Thaïs, your snow angel photo brought me back to my childhood in Quebec. What joy.
So happy this could bring back a happy memory for you too! Thank you for sharing this :) Thaïs
My happy moment today was playing “can you make me laugh?” with my 3 year old. Short and glorious answer: yes I can!
Trying this immediately
I realized that while I love to take pictures, I usually take them of just my kids. I wanted to keep doing that, but I also wanted to document the little things about the everyday things around me that bring me joy. In addition to the hard things going on everywhere right now, I’ve got some personal hardships I’m dealing with. Having my “Happy Little Glimmers” every day helps me remember that even in the darkest days, there are glimmers of light. I created a separate Instagram account for these glimmers (https://www.instagram.com/happy_little_glimmers) to keep a daily record for myself. They’re not always the best photos, and they’re rarely the biggest parts of my day, but in so many ways, they’re so important to me. I’m hoping at the end of the year, I’ll be able to look back and see that a bad year was still good in so many ways.
Thank you, Allison! This is a great idea and I think I’ll do something similar, and I’m following you on Instagram!
Ramona! I’ll follow you back and we can share glimmers. <3 It's weird, but it actually HAS made a difference in my days. I actively find myself looking for beauty all around me… I even noticed that my car's headlights looked sparkly and pretty one day. Which is NOT something I'd have noticed if I hadn't been specifically looking for something beautiful that day.
Love this, Allison! Just followed—and who knows maybe I’ll get inspired to try something similar! Thank you for sharing ❤️
I usually take a photo or two when I do my daily walk around the neighborhood. Nothing earth-shattering, but if a fallen leaf strikes me a certain way, or I see flowers sprouting in the spring, etc. I’ll snap a photo. It’s fun to look back and keep track of the seasons or remember something interesting I noticed.
Let’s hope Trump is a bit like Walter. Probably not though.
All of these photos! Inspiring, interesting and beautiful.
Disclaimer that I’m 6 months pregnant but this also made me good-teary :)
I love all of these.