Happiness Is...

In conjunction with a “Childhood”-themed sermon series at my church, the choir director has recently chosen a few songs that capture the essence of youth, innocence, and simplicity. Tunes such as “I Won’t Grow Up” (from Peter Pan) and John Lennon’s “Imagine” have echoed from the choir loft, but it was Clark Gesner’s “Happiness” (from You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown!) that really got my gears turning for this week’s blog entry. According to these lyrics, “Happiness is two kinds of ice cream, finding your skate key, telling the time, Happiness is learning to whistle, Tying your shoes for the very first time, Happiness is playing the drum in your own school band and Happiness is walking hand-in-hand”. In goes on and on touching upon the small things in life that really are the things that make one happy. So I got to thinking: What brings me such happiness?

Happiness is:

v Getting a greeting card with a heartfelt message in it

v Daisies

v A random hug

v Finishing something that I didn’t think I could do in the beginning

v A picnic

v The ocean

v The dead weight of my child sleeping on my chest—trusting me with everything, loving me without abandon

v Having a full tank of gas and the car windows down

v Laying in a hammock under the stars

v Playing on the swings at a park

v Thunderstorms

v The smell of laundry drying in the summer air

v Watching cartoons and eating cereal on the weekends—just like when you were little

v The feeling you get when you are wearing a good pair of Spanx and know that you look damn good

v Even better-- The feeling you get when you don’t need a good pair of Spanx and know that you look damn good

v A good mozzarella stick accompanied by the kind of marinara sauce you wish you could eat like a bowl of soup

v Holding hands with someone you love

v Taking a nap

v Sushi

v Running barefoot in the grass

v Playing wiffleball

v Getting a mix CD from a friend

v Beagle puppies

v The last bell on a Friday before vacation

v Watching birds at a bird feeder

v Hearing a good song from years ago that you TOTALLY forgot existed

I know that there are so many other things that I could list right now, and, perhaps, I will add them later. For now, I think that it is just important that on days like this—filled with the stresses of planning a wedding and caring for a sick baby—I sit back and remember what really matters when all is said and done.