Miscellaneous positive thoughts

A number of folks I know are going through some rough times—really rough. The economy still stinks. It’s practically winter and nothing will bloom for many months. My fat clothes continue to be too small. What should one do in the face of such opposition to cheer? One should focus on blessings and wonders. Taking a minute to consider what makes one smile can change the course of a mood.

Here are some things that can be relied upon to make me smile.

• an older man and woman, holding hands. The older they are, the bigger the resulting smile.

• the sound of my little boy giggling with abandon.

• a good, strong cup of coffee with just the right amount of cream and sweetener.

• noticing that my husband cleaned the litter box.

• puppies. Although not all puppies would make me smile at this point in my life; I’d opt for a yap-free variety, and I’d prefer for them to still have puppy breath.

• watching Polamalu snag an interception or two. Is he a human bullet, or what?

• securing a treasure for a few bucks from craigslist.

• hearing about the foul, lake-influenced winter weather in the Erie area…because I don’t live there anymore and it’s no longer my problem.

• that Christmas television commercial for Eat ‘n Park, where the star tries to fly up to the top of the tree and can’t quite make it…so the tree helps by bending down and scooping up the star. They use that ad every year, and it never fails to make me smile; sometimes it even makes me a little bit misty. Yes, I know I am becoming a cornball.

• and speaking of Christmas, it makes me smile that in less than a month, we will observe the day when Jesus was born, our savior, who left a throne to be a babe in a manger—to show us how to live and then to die for us, thus providing everlasting life.

So, think about what makes you smile! And smile! Or, share it here so that we can smile too!