HAPPINESS

    I am happy when:

--my pill organizer is full for the next week, set to go with all those nifty colors. Somehow it makes me feel contained and organized as well.

--when our 8 year-old Jack Russell Terrier goes pee in the backyard without prompting. Even better, when she poops when I take her out on the lead. (Never allowed free-range again after two horrifying and expensive encounters with porcupines.)

 

--when my husband manages to dispatch an enormous porcupine in our garden with a baseball bat. At first, the creature was in front of my Mary statue, and Rick thought, "I can't kill something in front of Mary!" Then it moved on and the time was right.

--when I make Chocolate Lava cakes and they come out just right, easy to take out of the mini containers without breaking.

 

--when I have enough energy to garden for over an hour, sometimes 1 and 1/2 hours although the last time my legs were so wobbly from crouching that the only way I could exit the garden was by crawling out to the driveway. Luckily, no one was around.

--when I make spicy Peanut Noodles (rice vinegar, sriracha, brown sugar, grated fresh ginger, tamari sauce, smooth peanut butter) with roasted veggies on top of udon noodles. My great discovery is glass storage containers with lids so I can put dinner in them for two nights, either hot or cold. It makes me happy to know that dinner is set for the next two nights.

--when I Face Time with either of my two beloved brothers, and also with my son Ben and his wife, Amy. I need to catch up with my peeps and see how they are doing. 

 

--when I Face Time with my dear friend in Devon who just lost her beloved husband, who was a friend to us, to Alzheimers. I think I can touch her face through the screen and give her a kiss, supporting her during her grief. We are both devoted gardeners and liberals. 

--when I go to our UCC church in Haydenville and hear Scripture read, news of the community, prayers, a wonderful zippy anthem from our choir, and a great sermon from Pastor Mark. We leave with our hearts full and souls replenished.

 

--when I get into my soft, loose PJs at 7:00 at night after supper (that's right, 7:00 o'clock), curl up on the couch with my doggy, and watch monkey videos. Who knew how comforting they could be, except when aggressive males drag baby monkeys along the road, hurting them, or mama monkeys give birth in a high tree, failing to catch the infant who falls to the pavement below. Then I segue into my Miss Read books (many in the Fairacre series and in the Thrush Green series), all taking place in a cozy English village full of grand characters. Her descriptions of nature are inspiring and soothing.

 

--when my second son, Char, calls when he is walking the dogs in the dog park, catching me up on his life and what is going on with him. We always have some sarcastic laughter about our health issues and the medical system.

--I am happy when God speaks to me in thought form which happens every now and then. As I contemplated my mortality recently, God spoke in my mind, "Time runs out but eternity is forever." That was reassuring.

--and always happy when my soul-mate and husband of 56 years makes me laugh so hard I almost fall off my chair. Laughter. It has carried us through many times, some of them quite dire. But here we are, still standing, talking and loving each other. We are blessed.