Simple Things that make me smile

I was at the post office today and saw a mother calling to her little boy to come along. He was playing with the door that lead to the slot where you drop your mail. He joyfully opened and closed it, looking in, trying to find out where the mail diappered to.

I walked up and asked him if he'd like to drop my mail in for me. He happily took the letters, opened the door and watched as the mail slide in the slot and out of view.

This made me think about how such simple things make children so happy.

I got in my truck and thought about the things in my life that truely made me smile.

My daughter always makes me smile, even when she is trying my patience. She is a strong, independent six year old who comes up with the most upsurd things to say. Things that only a six year old mind can come up with.

One of her favorite things to do is to look at the clouds and figure out what they look like. Last night on our walk she saw a bear claw. It took me a second to find the right cloud, but it did in fact look like a bear claw.

My dogs are another thing that make me smile. Their unconditional love is something I wish I had more of in my life. They greet me as I come home like I had been gone forever, sis with me when I'm tired, walks with me when I want to exercise, and steals my daughters toys when she thinks I'm not looking. But no matter what, whether I am in a good mood or bad, they is always there, wagging her tail, woo wooing at me to come and play.

We recently lost one. A German Shepherd 120 pounds of pure mush. He was my baby and I miss him everyday. But the memories I have of him make me smile. We often say "what I wouldn't give to have him back." For me it's true. I would give anything to have him back in my life.

I've recently again come to apreciate the night. I loved sitting outside looking at the moon and stars. I sit in awe and think that around the world people look at the same sky as I do. I wonder what else is out there, who else is out there. I sit outside and dream dreams that might never come true. But the darkness and quiet help me to end my day believing that they might come true.

I am realizing that all my life I have worked to aquire the things that I thought would make me happy. A new car, big home, plasma TV. But lately I am realizing the truth. These material things are a very small part of what makes me happy. That if I lived in a small house, had an old car and no TV I might actaully be happier. Having my daughter who makes me laugh, my pets who adore me, my health and my friends are really all that matters.

The end result for me...if I lost everything I owned tomorrow I don't think I would work too hard to get it back. It was too much work to get where I am, and I realize it really wasn't worth it.