Be Happy

I knew I could make you smile. And just for the record, dear ones, I didn't greet this morning like Garfield did. I was able to sleep last night, so unlike him, I enjoyed my coffee, and am looking forward to today's SHINY moments. Don't you love watching for them? There's something exciting about not knowing what is going to come your way; kind of makes it like a Forest Gump day, only without the chocolates.

I love summer, and all that comes with it, except for the triple digit days. If having a Genie lamp helped, I'd buy one- would change the weather man's prediction from 104-105 temps to within the mid 70 range. I am not looking forward to those high temps, but am grateful that I can at least be comfortable; so many people can't be. I keep thinking of the thousands who have been evacuated from their homes, keep thinking of the homeless, and those struggling simply to make ends meet. I remember a few years back when several senior citizens died during a heat wave. I truly hope it doesn't happen again, that people take time to check on their neighbors.


Time sure does fly by. The 4th of July is just around the corner, and once we're into September, the  year is over before you know it. I'm not one for making resolutions, but if I were, I know what it would be this time. It would be, for me to every day, say to myself

Why, out of all the things I could choose, would I choose this? Because the quality of my life would be better if I remembered to be as I was when a child.  Children view the world so differently than adults do; they see only the good in it, the beautiful. the colorful, shiny things.  They find pleasure in the simple, ordinary things. They don't start out each day worrying about this- or that- don't fret over any thing. We adults do.

Things, understandably change as we get older. Our life experiences cause us to become worriers, workaholics, oftentimes fearful,unhappy and insecure people. We get so caught up in our housework, jobs, hobbies, careers, computers, smartphones, and whatever else that distracts us, that we totally lose ourselves. Sometimes we don't realize how unhappy we are till a crisis arrives.
  I don't know how you feel about this happiness thing, don't know what happiness means to you. To me, it means contentment, and when I remember to tell myself" Be happy." it kind of readjusts my mindset, gets it back into the priority mode.
 
Saying to myself "Remember- be happy." is simply a reminder to myself to
stroll through the day, rather than rush; to not forget to enjoy the simple, ordinary things in life; the things that really count; those constant, eternal things that will always be there to uplift, comfort and bless, like: God's nightlights, the sunrise and sunsets, the ever-changing seasons that so subtly blend one into the other, the dew upon the grass, the song the wind sings.
    
Reminding myself to be happy  is just another way of reminding myself to  always be grateful for the many shiny moments God places within my hands; a reminder of just how content I really am.
    Saying the words does something else for me too. It reminds me that I will be as happy as I've a mind to be.

When we're happy, laughter will always be part of our lives. As hard as this journey without Johnny is I can honestly say I've not shut laughter out of my house. Humor is good for the soul, makes a sunny day even more sunny, don't you think?

This morning, seeing Garfield with that cup of coffee made me laugh. It reminded me of Johnny and his love for black. His favorite color was black. He had more beautiful black shirts and slacks than a woman has lipstick. :)
Every cowboy hat he owned was black (except one. It was brown, and he bought it because I liked it so much). But back to love for black.
   We were together for thirty-eight and a half years, and in all that time, out of all the coffee cups we went through, every one of his that got broken had to be replaced with another black one. I have one cup left, the last one he bought. It took us over a year to find it. He wanted the same kind he had which had gone out of style. We found the same cup but in yellow, white, a gold color and green. Nope! Had to be black. When we finally found the black one you'd have thought he won the lottery. lol
    I'll treasure that cup. Sometimes, when nights are hard and sleep an elusive thing, I use Johnny's black cup; brew some Sleepy Time Tea in it.

Well, dear ones, my hands are getting tight- hurting again so must close for now.  I usually check spelling, etc, but need a pain pill, so forgive any errors, okay? Thanks for listening and for the many prayers.

Love you much,


 Barb