Some Words...

My dad's 63 birthday was August 2. I sent him this card that I created with Touchpoint (if you have never used that you should, it's awesome) with Alice's 'Beach' picture on the front. On the inside I wrote...sometimes happiness can be as simple as walking on a beach and feeling the sand beneath your toes. As we grow older we forget that anything in life could ever be that simple. Nice eh? I still have that ability to write, heck I should have worked for Hallmark. ;-) Anyway, this post actually got me thinking about happiness. As adults we place so much significance on the 'big' material things to bring us happiness, the great job, the love of our life, the house, the car, the paycheck. Remember when you were a kid and being able to stay out past the time when the streetlights went on made you the happiest kid in the world. Or when you chased the ice cream truck 4 blocks, got completely out of breath, but the second you tasted that rocket popsicle all your cares just disappeared. I've often wondered at what point in our lives that simplicity goes away. When does happiness become so complicated? Is it when we go through puberty, is it when we graduate college and start having to pay our own way? Or is it after years and years of listening to commercials that tell us to buy something so we'll be happy? Whenever that point was, I wonder if there's a way to step back in time to that point where happiness was actually simple, uncomplicated, and obtainable.

I've decided that I'm going to try and set new 'happiness' goals for myself. I'm going to take on a new perspective on what actually constitutes happiness. I started today....and so far here is what has made me 'feel' happy. When my daughter woke up this morning and I picked her up out of her crib, she hugged me. She held on so tight that I never wanted to let go. Volley told me he loved me, I never get tired of hearing this. The El came 30 seconds after I got onto the platform AND I got a seat. It's not 90 and humid outside. An issue I was working on yesterday with a Microsoft product, got resolved (this happens so rarely). I have a job. I have a family. I can feel my heart beating and I'm alive.

Deep stuff eh? As corny as you might think this stuff is, I can say at this moment, I'm happy. The trick is to remember that all the things that made me happy today...were very SIMPLE.

So for each day you can count on me to write at least one or two blurbs about what made me happy for that day. I think it's important so that I don't forget. Which reminds me, another thing that makes me happy...I can remember things. My step dad has Alzheimers, remembering is something we should never take for granted.

'Til next time mon amies.