The Little Things

So basically this last week was a torment for everybody I immediately know, myself included. Even those who weren't in school had a tremendously busy week. For those of us in college it seems as though every project, test, big quiz, meeting, deadline, event horizon, due date, or cut off line happened sometime in this last week of February.

What this week felt like

So it was sometime between a five hour nap at the end of my day and getting on a bus to take me to campus the next morning that I remembered something my grandmother and mother always told me. "You have two jobs. One, to make yourself unhappy. And two, to make yourself happy again."

First Job

Second Job

I have made a pretty good habit out of doing this. Much to the discomfort of my friends. If I'm not smiling, I usually think of something funny that happened (or that could happen) and the result is a stupid grin on my face that comes completely out of nowhere, hence the discomfort...

Sorta my face not Creepy

Sorta my face Creepy

So I'm on the bus trying to think of things that will make me happy, WITHOUT creeping out the people around me. So I look out the window for inspiration. There's birds...

There's children at play

Nothing really seems to get me going though. But then I realize one little thing that we couldn't do without. One thing that most of us take for granted on a daily basis. It happened when some jerk who thought he was better than me (I know he did) drove past the bus in a speeding rage because he forgot how slow buses travel, even though we are practically born knowing this.

Pretty sure the guy in the car looked like this

It was then I realized. I'm so glad we have windshields.

Think about it. Without windshield you're evening drive through you're nice little town would go from this:

We're Family!

to something like this:

FUUUUU-

 you'd get bugs in your teeth, your eyes would be dry, and you wouldn't really have a very fun time driving. You would probably resort to putting on a pair of goggles but would probably end up looking like this guy:

I make these look cool

And that is something nobody wants.

So the next time you have a case of the Mondays, or the Wednesdays, or the "Let's just get this over with" days, try to find one thing, just ONE tiny thing to noteworthy to be happy about. It could be that you got a bunch of green lights one after the other, it could be that your coffee tasted pretty good this morning. It could be that your kids got up pretty well in comparison to other days. Maybe your morning just wasn't as bad as you thought it was going to be. Finding one little thing and changing your idea about it can dramatically alter how you think about other things, and can make your day more cheery. It doesn't have to be anything monumental or deep. It could be as simple as being glad you don't have to squint when you drive.