Speaking of Happy Thoughts

My family is my happiest thought. Not necessarily my parents, or my brothers; not my in-laws, but my family: David, Robert, Ben, Kirstin, Chelsea, Becca (and Alice). Kind of obvious, eh? Alice and Robert, though divorced, are still on good terms, and I still love Alice. She's another daughter, to me.

Today was actually a pretty good day. I did a lot of cleaning in the kitchen and living room, David worked on laundry, and we both took a nap together this afternoon. That is another happy thought...snuggling with my sweetheart. I'm kind of collecting happy thoughts for the days and weeks to come. They're all there, just not necessarily identified as such. The day I found Kirstin, at approximately 18 months of age, standing in the toilet, gleefully jumping up and down with zillions of bubbles pouring over the seat and onto the floor...that's a happy thought. (She'd put a bottle of baby bath in the toilet and then climbed in on top of it.) The day Ben made his first friend; all of the times Chelsea would use words far beyond her age...When she was about 2 years old, I remember she'd get this look on her face; a scowl, and we'd ask her "Chelsea, are you angry?" "No!" "Are you sad?" "No!" "What's wrong?" "I fustwated!" (I'm frustrated!) And Becca...such an amazingly beautiful baby. I won't forget the day that she headed off to go Trick or Treating with her sisters; Becca and Kirstin were dressed identically as witches and had the same witches hats. Becca's kept falling down over her face. Then there's the day that David proposed to me. He showed up at my apartment in St. Paul, wound up like a two bit alarm clock; shuffling from one foot to another and said, "Let's go out, but not to any of those Irish places you like." Darn...no Half Time Rec. We ended up going to Dixie's on Grand, a cajun restaurant around the corner from where I lived, and oddly enough was where we ended up on our first date. While waiting for our drinks to arrive, David pulled an envelope out of his pocket, tossed it across the table to me, and said "Oh, by the way, this is for you." Inside was my engagement and wedding rings. *sigh Such a romantic ;-) Seriously, though, he really can be. When Ben was born, for example, instead of flowers, David gave me a pair of purple fuzzy footies. Another happy thought. (Okay, that's a combination happy/funny thought hehehehe.)

I've heard, many times, that it's good to count your blessings. That may be true (probably is), and I have many, many blessings. But for the time being, I prefer to count my Happy Thoughts. Oh yea...purple fuzzy footies.