365 "DAYS"

August 8th
Happy Happiness Happens Day!  What an awesome reminder day!  We all have those days you want to just go back to bed or scream at the top of your lungs (have you ever thought of what an odd phrase that is).  Sometimes those days last a little or a lot longer than a day.  That's when you really need a Happiness Happens Day to remind you that joy is there and real.  I thought for this day, I would make a list of 25 things that make me happy on a regular basis.  You know, the things that you can't dismiss as a random freak occurrence because they are there all the time or close to it.  Here you go:

1. Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ
2. The Bible and The Book of Mormon (yep, I'm Mormon).  I love these books.  I'm so grateful for the wisdom in their pages.
3. My gorgeous and amazing and intelligent and talented husband treats me like a queen.
4. My four kids (five if you count my son-in-law) are absolutely awesome and really great individuals trying their best to be their best.
5. My parents raised me well and taught me the important things.
6. I have the best friend (outside of my hubby) in the world.
7. I have a home.
8. I'm not afraid of hard work...maybe I'm not a huge fan of it, but I'm not afraid of it.
9. My mind works (now my kids might tell you something different).
10. Heavenly Father created an exceptionally beautiful world.  Have you noticed how many unbelievable views and vacation spots there are?  Have you seen all of the beautiful sunrises and sunsets.  The waterfalls, the cute animal pictures, the funky animal pictures.  The list is endless, and I doubt any of us haven't been inspired by nature more than once.
11. The laughter of a little child.  I still get all sentimental when I think of listening to my kids giggles when they were little.  I loved them all, but my son, J, had the most intoxicating giggle.  I NEVER tired of it...and I miss it.  Guess I need to pull out the home movies.
12. Learning is great.  I love to learn new things.  I love knowledge.  I love that my choices are better, that I can help my kids with their homework all the way through high school (well...most of it).  I love experiencing a new skill.  Learning opens doors.
13. I love the look my kids get when they've done a good job and they know it.  Not an arrogant look, but still an "I really did that well.  Good job, me.  Did you all see what I did?" look.  I love that!
14. I love looking at pictures.  The memories of fun and happy times, of people who aren't here any more and the time I was blessed to have with them, the goofy moments, the what was I thinking moments...all are never boring.
15. I love a really good joke.  My dad has a million of them.  My kids have a million of them.  My husband tries to have a million of them.
16. Laughing at myself.  I "occasionally" have a very rare moment where my brain takes a break.
17. A great book is fabulous.  I like a lot of different genres.  But my favorites are the one where you have to read just one more chapter.  I'm really tired when I read those books, but I love them.  I also love the ones that cause me to ponder and learn and become a little better person.
18. Good grades-  my kids do get them...along with a few of the others here and there.  Good grades make me VERY happy- cheaper car insurance is a plus!
19. Air conditioning!!!!!!  I don't think any one questions why this makes me happy.
20. An inspired dish is just taste bud changing (can't say life changing because that is just an exaggeration).  Those dishes where the textures and flavors and smells just make you melt in your chair, the ones you'd eat forever if your stomach would let you.  Just remembering some of them makes you melt.
21. Scouts- I love those rough and tumble boys.  They have a unique perspective.  They are also future husbands and fathers and the scouting program is one of the best ones out there to help them be the best!
22. Gentlemen make me happy.  I appreciate the gestures of a door held open for me, a seat given up, ladies first, all of that stuff.  I guess it's the respect, at the heart of it.  There are many gentlemen out there.  I appreciate dads who teach their sons to be gentlemen and women who are thoughtful enough to accept this graciousness from their husbands/boyfriends and sons and really any man. 
23. Music always stirs the soul.  The soul may be at peace or feeling a little rowdy, but there's nothing like a good piece of music that gets the inner you stirred up.  Hymns or rock and roll, Broadway music or lullabies...I love them all.
24. CHOCOLATE!  I can't imagine life without this delicacy.  Cake, brownies, ice cream, hot chocolate, in a candy, covering stuff, inside of stuff, for dipping, in solid form, in liquid form, just about anywhere.  I remember driving down the streets of Hershey, Pennsylvania one night with my head hanging out my car window and taking very long, deep breaths.  The scent of chocolate was everywhere!
25. Fresh baked anything.  Don't you love walking into a home and smelling bread or cinnamon rolls or homemade chili?

There's my list of 25.  I'm sure I could add to it, or change it if I really took time to think about what my top 25 would be, but these are 25 off the top of my head.  It would be amazing if everyone took time to think of all of the things in their lives that made them happy.  I think we'd have less grumps in this world and a whole lot more smiling.  Happiness does happen, all the time.  We just sometimes have to look for it or remember it on those days where Murphy's Law seems to be controlling everything.  I say smile and start thinking about it on more that just Happiness Happens Day.