These are some of the things that, while not huge, make me happy. I try to be mindful of all the simple pleasures life has to offer, but there are simply too many!

1. Finding the perfect parking spot. It is a pleasure not to have to drive around a crowded parking lot or worse, a crowded parking ramp. Sometimes the perfect  spot is just waiting for me to arrive, and it makes me smile when that happens.

2. The HOV lane on a busy morning. I’m not a morning person, and budgeting my time is not my greatest strength (those of you who know me personally can stop snorting now). That being said, sometimes, very occasionally, we leave the house slightly later than we perhaps ought to. On those mornings, when the right three lanes are crawling, I’m grateful for the HOV (or carpool) lane on the left. It moves along swiftly so I can get my son to school, then myself to work, on time. Of course on the days I don’t have him I’m in the other three lanes with the rest of the suckers, so that leads me to the number 3.

3. Sharing part of my commute with my son. On most days we ride together to and from school, and I really enjoy and appreciate the time we get to spend together, one on one. We may not have a deep conversation, but that’s okay. Just being together is good.

4. I’m thankful each and every time my car starts and takes me from place to place safely. It has about 123,000 miles on it, and I’m keeping my fingers crossed that it will get many more before it earns its retirement. Hey, it’s a terrific car, and it’s paid for!

5. Singing along to the car radio makes me happy. I don’t pick the songs, they just show up, and they sometimes surprise and delight me. I’m not shy about singing along, even though I have a lousy singing voice. I turn it up loud enough so I blend in (at least in my mind). If I’m going to be stuck in traffic, I might as well enjoy it.