Why is My Clock Yellow?

Right. It's a fair question. One that demands an answer, even.

"My Clock is Yellow!" is the declaration that pulls me from the deepest slumber every morning. It is the first thing I hear in the morning, from my favourite voice on the planet. It is cheerful, it is exuberant, it is my daughter, announcing that the time for sleep is over and a new day is upon us.

She got a clock for her birthday. But not just any clock. The My Tot Clock. It is yellow during the day, blue at night, red for time-outs and green for "independent play time" (though we haven't experimented with that last one yet...she's 2). She's completely fascinated with it, and it has made nap and bedtime a dream. There's something about a colourful clock that reduces even the most headstrong toddlers to brainwashed automatons. The clock is blue? Better go to sleep! The clock is yellow? Party time! She loves it, we love it, it's a win-win.

As for why I chose this for the title of my blog - because it makes me smile. And everyone can use another reason to smile. At least in my opinion. It represents the child-like enthusiasm one should feel when starting a new day, and the unabashed pleasure that should be experienced over something so basic as being given a raw chunk of time to do with as we wish. Sure, you might have a job, you might have a hectic schedule, you might be a slave to "the man", but that doesn't mean that you can't be happy too.

(It's about to get really cheesy now...)

Go ahead. Smile. Own your time. Own your day. Own your life just by deciding for yourself how you want to feel about it. Buy a yellow clock if you must to remind yourself that waking up every morning is reason enough to be happy.

Also, yellow is my favourite colour. But that's not nearly as profound.