You Might Find They Make You Happy

Well more than a year ago, I wrote an entry entitled "'Happy' Is Just a Word" where I reflected on the literal meaning of the word "happy". I also gave a shout-out for some of my fave entries in the book 14,000 things to be happy about by Barbara Ann Kipfer.

I'm still reading this book. (said in dry tone)

But I can't help it! It's the text I grab when I've got two minutes (and I mean that precisely) and just want to be happy. To think about happy. To be thankful for what makes me happy. And with 14,000 items, I can't imagine one could ever actually complete the book given that, by the time you reach your 50th bullet, you can't remember the last 45.

So, in the continuing spirit of summer fun, here are some new entries for your consideration:

• the piping of a piccolo (because that's what I played in high school marching band)
• no-turning back solutions
• fresh clean sheets and blankets on the bed
• fog: technically nothing but a cloud in contact with the earth
• a stream-of-consciousness list
• reading all night and sleeping all morning
• having someone request the pleasure of a dance
• "More Isn't Always Better"
• closing your eyes and breathing in
• a seasonal collage of pictures of your house

And, just as before, I'd add that some of my own give me some further grins:

• the smell of each of my children when I hug them after they wake
• the smile of a good friend who's listening to you struggle to connect with someone else...while she knows exactly what you mean
• that the first gift Craig gave me in marriage was his name
• "the greatest thing is simply to love and to be loved in return"
• writing paper with my last name engraved at the bottom in the drawer alongside thank-you cards boasting the script "craig candice grace elijah judsen"
• fountain pens with purple ink and fine nibs
• the exact right amount of creamer in my morning coffee
• cool breezes on a hot day
• the love of a good man...whom I also call husband

 Think of some of your own....maybe even write them down. Make a list of 14,000 of your own.

You may find they make you happy.