Do you ever find yourself being really excited about something, and then when that something happens, it turns out to be EVEN BETTER than you thought it would be?

On Saturday I had that experience.

I visited the Henry Vilas Zoo, here in Madison.

If you haven’t been there, it’s an AMAZING FREE zoo! 😍

My FAVORITE animal to see at the zoo is the red panda.♥️

The red panda exhibit is the first place I want to go when I get there. 🤣 That way, if the panda isn’t out, I can check to see if it’s out before I leave the zoo at the end of my visit. 😉

I got to the zoo right when they opened, and sure enough, the panda was out! 😃

The weather was PERFECT that day!

I just stood in awe watching the BEAUTIFUL red panda as the sun beat down and gentle breezes traveled around me.

Dr. Rick Hanson, author of Hardwiring Happiness, talks about the importance of savoring a positive experience so that it can be stored as a memory.

I definitely savored the experience of seeing my FAVORITE animal! ❤️

When I was about to leave the red panda exhibit, something AMAZING happened!

A SECOND red panda came out! 😮

I can’t express HOW EXCITED I was over this! 😂

A couple years ago, one of the two red pandas passed away due to cancer. I had NO IDEA there were TWO red pandas again at the zoo! 💜

Seeing TWO red pandas on SATURDAY absolutely made for a LOVELY day! 💚

This week’s song is “Lovely Day” by Bill Withers.

Lyrics:

When I wake up in the morning, love
And the sunlight hurts my eyes
And something without warning, love
Bears heavy on my mind
Then I look at you
And the world’s alright with me
Just one look at you
And I know it’s gonna be
A lovely day
Lovely day, lovely day, lovely day, lovely day
Lovely day, lovely day, lovely day, lovely day
A lovely day, lovely day, lovely day, lovely day
Lovely day, lovely day, lovely day, lovely day

When the day that lies ahead of me
Seems impossible to face
When someone else instead of me
Always seems to know the way
Then I look at you
And the world’s alright with me
Just one look at you
And I know it’s gonna be
A lovely day

Lovely day, lovely day, lovely day, lovely day
Lovely day, lovely day, lovely day, lovely day
A lovely day, lovely day, lovely day, lovely day
Lovely day, lovely day, lovely day, lovely day

When the day that lies ahead of me
Seems impossible to face
When someone else instead of me
Always seems to know the way
Then I look at you
And the world’s alright with me
Just one look at you
And I know it’s gonna be
A lovely day

Lovely day, lovely day, lovely day, lovely day
Lovely day, lovely day, lovely day, lovely day
A lovely day, lovely day, lovely day, lovely day
Lovely day, lovely day, lovely day, lovely day

May you take a moment to remember something you recently experienced that led to you having a lovely day! 💛

Wishing you well! 💙