This morning I was sitting in my kitchen, sipping my coffee, watching some Netflix and eating cereal when my housemate walked into the kitchen. I said "Good morning" and continued on with my breakfast. After a few minutes, I heard him jokingly say "Why are you so happy this morning?" I looked at him confused and he said "You're just sitting their smiling. Care to share the happy?" I hadn't even known I was smiling. I thought about our interaction for the rest of the morning, and it got me thinking about all the little things that make me smile. There are quite a few things that are so simple, but that make me smile every time.
Coffee:
I LOVE coffee. I really do. Fancy lattes, frozen cappuccinos, or a simple house blend with cream and sugar, it is all a daily blessing. Coffee makes me smile. The warmth, the smell, the flavor, the energy I get, the atmosphere of coffee shops. Tons of different reasons to smile where a cup of coffee is involved.
Music:
Music gives me life. It has been my passion for as long as I can remember. I think I could probably sing before I could speak. I can rock it out (with opera or musical theater, cause I'm actually not much of a rock singer) on a stage in front of hundreds of people. I can also let loose in the shower or in my truck like the best of them. Either way, I love losing myself in the melodies and the stories. Music is universal and it makes me smile to share my gift and passion with everyone interested.
Food:
Pasta. Bacon. Anything with melted cheese. Potatoes. Cheesecake. Cookie Dough. These are a few of my favorite things as Julie Andrew's would say (if you don't get the reference, Google the Sound of Music and have your mind blown). Who doesn't smile about good food? Need I say anymore about why food makes me smile?
Cowboy Boots:
I'll be the first to admit it. I am a country girl. I grew up on a farm. I grew up driving tractors and trucks, hauling firewood, going on hayrides and to the country county fairs, wearing work-mud-rain-cowboy boots. I am proud of the red dirt upbringing I had, and I will prance around in my boots just about anywhere when I am missing home. My boots were made for smiling.
Nature:
Have you ever been sitting outside in the early morning, and been able to just watch the sun come up over the horizon and stayed there letting the light wash over you, soaking into your soul? Or perhaps when the last light of day is fading away, welcoming in the night, moon and starts? I've been able to have that experience many times. This is one of those smiling in the quiet silence of nature kind of moments.
Jane Austen is a boss. She was a classy lady who told it like it is, and created some of the most Fall-In-Love-With-Able men (and women) characters in history. Of course I love some Harry Potter, Anne of Green Gables, Outlander, Charlotte Bronte and more as well. I have mad respect for anyone who can create a world outside of this where people and I can immerse ourselves and go on an adventure.
Sunflowers:
"Turn your face toward the sun and the shadows will fall behind you." Sunflowers are some of the most hardy and stubborn flowers I know of. You can plant them once in a garden, and they will grow year after year even if you plant new crops each year. They grow always toward the sun, in the barest toughest patches of dirt. If I were a flower, I'd be a sunflower, lifting my face to smile at the sun.
Spread the Happy
There is always a reason to smile. You might not know what it is, but it exists. Borrow one of my reasons if you like, or go find your own, but always find a reason to smile. Every day. You'd be surprised how easy it is.
