Archiving Happiness

It started yesterday.  I found myself randomly archiving moments of happiness.  I posted a status on Facebook last night-the first time I’ve posted in months.  It stated simply, “Rudolph!”  Since that moment, the list has grown incrementally, and now, it’s bubbling over…I must share…

1.  As stated previously, Rudolph makes me happy.  Yes, he’s awkwardly animated, and the dentist is irritating, but it doesn’t matter. There’s a mob of us for whom Rudolph was an eagerly anticipated event, even if Santa was skinny and more than a little mean.

2.  Sam Adams Winter Lager makes me happy.  Especially at this moment, when my beer is so cold that I have to analyze whether it’s actually crystallized or just deliciously chilled.

3.  Mindlessly surfing Etsy makes me happy.  I’ll probably post on this topic separately. So many talented and creative souls! I love the baubles I find there, and I think I’ll have to share my favorites very soon.

4.  Cozy blogs make me happy.  To be specific, those bloggers that evoke a sense of comfort, beauty and home with their posts.  They inspire me.

5.  Christmas lights make me happy.  Apparently, I won’t be growing out of it.  I find them beautiful, and oddly calming.  I think my favorites lights are those that take a small, modest, maybe even shabby home, and turn it into a hodge podge of color and festivus.  I love the celebration implied by the effort. Lights are pretty.

6.   The word “Festivus” makes me happy.  If Seinfeld existed for no other purpose, then the creation of this word justifies it’s existence for me.  I celebrate the concept of festivus.

7.   Christmas themed fiction makes me happy.  This ever-lengthening list of books is also destined to be a future post on it’s own merit.  During the month of December, I read Caron, McComber and every other beautifully sappy version of Christmas love I can get my hands on.  Some are wonderful! Some are terrible! And they all make me happy.

8.  Sappy holiday movies on the Hallmark channel make me happy.  I watch them constantly from Thanksgiving to Christmas.  The conflict is predictable, the problems are solved (frequently by a Christmas miracle) and they usually end in a cavalcade of seasonal joy.  They also remind me of my Daddy.  Pops and I watched many a sappy Hallmark movie together.  Our philosophy was simple.  Life is stressful enough.  Why would you watch stressful TV?

9.  Anticipating someone’s reaction to a gift makes me happy.  The idea that I can make them feel special is a gift in itself.

10.  Spending time with all of you through “Such the Like” makes me happy.  It’s gratifying in a way that supersedes the norm.

I like this archiving of happiness.  I like it very much.