Thursday, December 4, 2008

Happiness

For the past few years my father has been sending me weekly letters. I love this tradition for a variety of reasons.

I love that it is a letter sent through the mail not just an e-mail. In the day where you can instantly communicate with someone half way around the world, it is so nice to recieve a letter in the mail.

I love that my dad takes the time to write even though he sees me several times during the week and could share the information with me at any time.

I love that he shares poems and articles that he thinks are important or that I would enjoy. I have been saving them for years and its nice to go back to them from time to time.

Recently he sent me an article entitled "Be Happy Anyway". The concept of the article is that the economic boom didn't bring us any real happiness so maybe there are ways to find happiness now. Since you can't buy happiness, you have to find other ways to be happy.

So I started thinking about what it is that makes me happy. Some days its hard to be happy, the weather is grey and yucky, there are bills to pay, errands to run, chores to do, cranky toddlers to attend to. But even then if you really stopped and thought about it, there are a bunch of things that could make you happy.

Here are just a few of the things I've come up with
1. Family. I'm pretty lucky to have the family I do. I love my husband and my daughter. I have a great relationship with my parents and with my in-laws.

2. Friends. Even though most of my friends don't live close by I know that they are always there and it makes me happy.

3. Making Stuff. It doesn't matter what it is, I just love to make stuff. I make jewelry, I crochet, I sew silly dino toys for Bunny. Just put something in my hands and set me loose and I'll be as happy as a clam.

4. Books. Before Bunny came into our lives, I could spend hours in a bookstore browsing. I've even read entire novels over the course of some of my visits. I love looking at all the art and photography books. I flip through cookbooks drooling at all the yummy goodness inside.

I don't get to bookstores as much as I would like but I've rediscovered the library and am loving it. We have library day every Tuesday. Bunny gets a stack of new books and I've started browsing for me too. I may not be able to find the latest or newest thing but I've discovered some real gems. And that process of hunting for treasure really makes me happy.

5. Writing. Somedays I don't know why I do it. I complain that no one is reading and I just ignore this blog. But sitting here at the computer, putting my thoughts out there for anyone to see does make me happy.

So there it is, just a few things that make me happy. What about you? What makes you happy? Feel free to post links if you'd like.

10 comments:

Z said...

I love this post - and I love your letter tradition with your dad! That is so awesome!

As for things that make me happy - some are the same as yours: books, crafting, friends and family. Others include: cooking and/or baking, taking a long walk on a beautiful day, taking a nap, watching the sunrise...

:)

wfbdoglover said...

OOH, I've been meaning to post a blog some letters. My grandmother always told us to write her letters over the years.

When she passed, we had to go and clean our her letters. Imagine our joy to sit around as 6 granddaughters and read them. My grandmother also mixed one of everyones into each others. It was probably the best family experience ever.

I love that you are saving your dads. I'm sure your daughter will enjoy reading them when she gets older.

Anonymous said...

Your blog makes me happy! Don't stop!

Anonymous said...

Your letter tradition with your dad is really nice to hear...So many parents these days wouldn't think to do something like that because it takes too much time and they don't realize that the small things that you do with your kids are really the most important...My happy things include books, remodeling the house, spending time with my niece and nephews, good friends and my parents.

We will be doing our annual Xmas cookie bake in a couple of weeks and have turned it into a family affair that includes all the kids to the extent of their capabilities and it's really neat to see how they change abilities from one year to the next.

Anonymous said...

That is so cool of your dad!

Kate Coveny Hood said...

I feel the same way you do about writing. I find something so satisfying about it. Even if very few people are actually reading it!

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx said...

that letter tradition is awesome.

Heidi said...

Letter writing is becoming a lost art it seems, so how great is it that your dad sends you letters??!! What a treasure!

Things that make me happy? Having a cup of coffee with little to no interruption makes me very happy. It's the little things...

jen said...

i love waking up before the girls ... ok, well ... waking up a decent hour, when they sleep in. and having a quiet warm house with nowhere to run to and a cup of coffee.
i love the smiles in my girls' eyes.
i love the letter my dad sent me one time that told me how proud he is of me.

Jen said...

Wow, I love that tradition. I wish my dad would do that....hmmm, it probably isn't quite as touching if I have to beg him to send me letters, huh?

Also, keep blogging - I feel the same way about mine sometimes, but I think the blog is also a bit of a gift to myself and my kids. I hope we'll cherish it years down the road.