What Makes Me Happy

Happiness comes in many forms. Each of us has our own ways of finding pure joy. Throughout my life, I have tried to identify where my smile is the brightest and where my heart feels the most alive. I'd love to share a few.

That feeling on the first warm day after the dead cold of winter. The one where you open all the windows of the house and let the breeze flow through. Where the dusty air created in the coldest days is replaced with the fresh, burst of spring.

Sitting on a front porch on the cool nights in late summer. When you just sit on a bench with the people you love the most. Watching the sky turn from bright blues to the deep reds of a beautiful sunset. That simple moment when you close your eyes and just breathe in the simplicity of it all.

Being bundled up in cozy blankets with a roaring fire in the fireplace. A night filled with genuine laughter and fun. With board games, that don't end in arguing, surrounded by the one's who you get to share life with.

Taking a late night drive with the windows down. Letting the wind blow through your hair. A ride filled with deep conversation and friendship. One where you have no place to go but always end up exactly where you need to be.

One simple moment when the person you hold dearest, tells you they love you. When they take your breath away, your heart skips a beat, the butterflies in your stomach go wild, and you utter the words "I love you too."

When you get to watch the fluttering eyelids of a sleeping child. Remembering back to a time when life seemed simpler and purer. Imagining the beauty of their future and the life yet to live. Taking in the peace that is surrounding the moment of rest.

A time when a family sits around a table and shares stories of the past. When they light up because of a memory where they experienced joy. To know that these are the people who created you and the amazing life you live.

To hear the single line of a song that your heart simply needed to hear. To know that everything will be okay because of a strum of a guitar. To be transported back to a time when that song meant everything to you.

When a smell unexpectedly flashes you back to a time that you could never forget, or a person you hold so dear. To pause for that moment to breathe it in once more, in an attempt to savor and remember.

The feeling of that one comforting and surrounding hug. To have someone you love's arms wrapped tight around you in a protective brace. To feel so close and instantly feel a sense of calm.