Happiness

"Happiness is a warm puppy." - Lucy VanPelt

My senior year in college, my roommates and I followed a series of articles written by Bob Greene. (Bob Greene was a prominent Chicago Tribune journalist who ran into some "bad luck" and is no longer working for them.)

Anyway, the articles revolved around happiness and what made him happy. He believed that there were countless things that made him happy, and chose to make a list of all of them in each article in the series. As I recall, the series lasted for about a week. It became kind of an obsession with us, as we decided who would buy the paper each day and then racing home to read the article. (It was winter and we were in Milwaukee. Not much was going on.)

We taped these articles to our pantry door, as a reminder of all things happy. Then we started a list of our own. This list grew and grew as we noticed all the things around us that made us happy. I remember one in particular that still makes me smile. "The day after a trip to the grocery store," was I'm sure written by Karen, who loved the grocery store and even dreamed of having her wedding there someday.

So, in honor of that list, and in an effort to document happy things in a time where rushing around, honking horns and grunting "happy holidays" has become the norm, I give you the beginning of my happy list (feel free to add more in the comments section):

Things that make me happy:
-Stein (aw, shucks, couldn't resist. gush gush.)
-A cup of chai tea, Trader Joe's cookies, and an episode of the Gilmore Girls.
-Friday nights.
-Time spent with family.
-Sunday afternoons with nothing to do but nap on the couch.
-Pancakes.
-The summer wind (the song and the actual thing)
-Freshly baked cookies with a cold glass of milk.
-Time spent with old friends.
-Laughing so hard that you can barely catch your breath.
-Going to see a play, or better yet, a musical.
-Magazines.
-Coming in from the cold and having hot chocolate to warm your chilly fingers and cheeks.
-Reading for pleasure.
-Receiving an email from an old friend.
-Traveling.

I will add to this list from time to time, so don't worry. There are definitely a lot more things that make me happy. I just don't want to bore you with a long list right now...