Last week I casually opened the drawer in our kitchen with aluminum foil and FOUND A DEAD MOUSE . A. DEAD MOUSE. FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THINGS SACRED AND HOLY.
I screeched into the living room like my hair was on fire and jumped onto the back of our couch, panting.
Sheila was sitting on the chair, and, after I finally explained the horror of the situation, she started to laugh. Really hard. And then she laughed harder at my indigence.
“I can’t help it – it makes me laugh,” she said.
That’s the best segue way I can come up with for today’s post – which is 10 things that make me smile. The idea came from a quote I recently read the Vietnamese monk Thich Nhat Hanh:
“Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.”
So with that in mind, I decided to make a list of 10 things that make me smile.
1. Not mice
This one might seem obvious, but I thought I’d start with it. Tiny critters that have tiny paws and tiny whiskers do not make me smile.
But apparently when I react like David from Schitt’s Creek it makes Sheila smile. So…someone smiles there…
2. An Iron City Light Beer Poster from 1986
Iron City Beer and the Pittsburgh Pirates have two things in common – they are both pretty bad. And they both remind me of home. One year when I was a kid, I stopped with my dad at one of the local clubs where he belonged. He had a beer, I had a coke and bag of Combos, and I saw that there was an Iron City Beer poster featuring the baseball cards of some former Pirate players. When the season was over my dad asked the bar tender to save it for me.
My dad never took me to a Pirate game. He hates cities and he hates crowds. Be he brought that poster home for me, because I loved baseball, and I smile every time I notice it on the wall of my office.
3. My first cup of coffee in the morning
‘Nuff said.
4. My mom’s frugality
Last week I signed into a webinar for my parents’ local electric company in Western Pennsylvania. They’re not very tech savvy and if they signed into this event, they saved ten bucks. So I signed in on their behalf last Thursday night.
It would have been much easier to give my mom 10 bucks. But that’s not the point then, is it?
I used to roll my eyes at things like that. Now it makes me smile.
5. Dogs, especially dogs hanging their heads out of a car window
Without fail, when I see a dog hanging his head out of a car window, I can’t help but smile. Because they always look like they are living their best life.
6. Draft beer with pepper on it
What makes bad draft beer better? Nothing. But my dad and his brother always put pepper in their beer to keep the foam on it and so I’ve picked up the habit. Every time I do it, I can’t help but smile. (No, I don’t do it with quality craft beer…just the cheap stuff.)
7. The song “Just One Look” by Doris Troy.
Sheila and I walked in to this song for our wedding ceremony. I smile every time I hear it. Also singing “Super star” by the Carpenters at the top of my lungs makes me smile. Ok, maybe every Carpenter’s song.
8. My talking Mr. Rogers desk buddy
A few weeks ago, one of the clients gave me a talking Mr. Rogers to put on my desk. Every time I push the trollye, Mr. Rogers says one of his familiar lines. I smile every time I push the trolley.
9. Inflatable animal costumes
I’m pretty sure an inflatable T-rex costume is a cure for everything. And you can’t wear it or watch someone else where it without smiling. Having said that, I also think an Avocado costume would make me smile. Also a rubber chicken purse. Actually rubber chickens too. Ok toys. Toys make me smile.
10. Dancing
I can’t dance without smiling. Especially when the “Conga” comes on. I mean who can keep a straight face while dancing to that? That is pure joy.
Make a list of things that make you smile, and put that list on your laptop or desk top or fridge or spouse’s forehead.
And smile.