Lucky me, I already have so much to smile about as I look back on my life. I have loving relationships, new challenges, rewarding work, and all sorts of amazing memories. You know all those cute sayings that people pin on Pinterest and buy on canvasses at their local craft stores? Of course you do. The ones about home and family and living and loving and laughing? The ones about memories and faith and commitment and joy and friendship? Well, I don’t need those. Why? Because I have that stuff in my life and in my memory banks. I don’t need to see it plastered on the wall, and in fact I’m pretty sure that the people who have those all over the place will be tired of them in a year or two and replace them with cows or giraffes or bunnies, or whatever else is hot in home decor that season.

I love and am loved. I live within my means. I have traveled. I have tried new things. I have hopes and dreams and aspirations. I’m reasonably well educated and relatively well rounded. I’m generally well liked and fairly well respected in my personal and professional lives. I’m good.

By the time I’m in my rocking chair, I hope to have many more good memories, far fewer unpleasant ones, and a legacy of love to look back upon. That should put a smile on anyone’s lips.

QUESTION #3

What do you do that helps you bring happiness and excitement into your life?

This passion prompt is really two questions in one for me. I don’t see happiness and excitement as the same thing at all. In fact, some of the things that bring me the most happiness would be considered coma inducing for excitement junkies.

Let me explain. The main thing that brings me happiness is being with the people and dog I love. I know, what a snooze. But for me, that’s what I want in my life. I love being snug at home with my sweetheart and my son and our darling pup. It doesn’t really matter what we’re doing, although I would much rather watch a movie than scrub toilets, in case anyone was starting to question my sanity. Running errands, doing yard work, or cooking and sharing a meal are all causes for happiness, when the company is good.

Another thing that makes me happy is taking good care of myself. I’m happy when I eat right, exercise, and get enough sleep. I’m happy when I’m caught up on my work, my home is orderly, and I don’t have deadlines looming over my head. When I’m able to avoid procrastination and be productive, my sense of well being soars. None of those things are sexy, or exciting, but they lead to satisfaction and contentment, and happiness.

Now if you want to talk about excitement, I do have my share, but I’m sure most people would consider my view of excitement as tame. Still, it’s my prompt and my perspective, so here goes. I find excitement in trying new experiences. They don’t have to be earth shattering to be enlightening. To that end, I really enjoy traveling. Shaking up daily routine and seeing new parts of the planet excites me. I love finding little treasures in unexpected places and learning about the history and culture of other areas, even within my own state. Even small day trips are exciting to me. On a recent outing I was thrilled to find the perfect flying pig for my backyard nestled among iron coyotes and ceramic pots. As I do my laps in the backyard pool, it encourages me to embrace the seemingly impossible.

My take on fun and excitement has certainly changed over the years, but I’m ok with that. I’m having the time of my life.