Sunny days...chasing the clouds away!

I got on the road this morning at 2am in order to arrive at my mom's house at 7am to surprise her for her birthday. The drive through the dark night was just what I needed in order to sort out some things in my head. I realize the past few posts have been pretty deep and just like seeing the sun rise this morning, I feel like the funk is starting to lift.My first ever California sunset taken in San Diego. This makes me happy!

In honor of that, here's a list of things that make me happy:

• Seeing the sun rise or sun set...alone or with people, realizing the gift of another day
• Catching up with old friends about things that really matter
• Getting rid of drama in my life and moving on
• Realizing how much I'm truly loved
• Being called 'Miss So-and-so' as I was for 3 years when teaching gymnastics to 6 month olds-5 year olds
• Seeing my friends get married and have babies
• The way babies and toddlers always smile at me (I really think it's my hair!)
• Playing tennis
• Deep, deep laughs that make no sound when they come out, bring tears to your eyes and make my stomach hurt
• Organizing an amazing dinner party for friends
• Honest conversations about the crap that's going on in life (there are few I can do this with...)
• Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream
• Rainstorms
• Flowers--gerbera daisies and stargazer lilies
• Time to myself
• Afternoon naps in the sunshine
• Lazy days
• Meeting new people
• Helping others
• Being able to invest in the college women I advise
• Serving people I love in ways they need to be served
• Receiving and sending cards in the mail
• Emails that just say "Hey--how's it going?"
• That feeling you get when you see someone special calling
• The changing leaves of fall
• Star gazing
• A big mug of coffee in the morning
• New clothes (or shoes...or purses...)
• Making a difference

I plan to make this a running list...but think this is a good start to come back to when I need a pick-me-up.