This afternoon I opened a fortune cookie, and this was inside.

Everyone has some challenges in their life that can color the way they look at the world. We have the power to look at everything thrown our way, but only SEE what makes life worth living and makes us happy.

Isn’t it so true? We can wake up every day and choose to let the challenges we meet bring us down and make us miserable, OR we can choose to focus on what makes our day brighter and better. I believe happiness is a choice we make, and it is in the way we view our lives.

These are some of the things that have made me happy in the last 24 hours.

• Beautiful spring-like weather that greeted me as I walked to my car after school
• Finishing my book club book – The Lost Letters of Ireland by Susanne O’Leary
• Text messages from my six-year-old grandson. “I love you Nona, This is N.” followed by a emojis galore – of course there were some poop ones 🙂
• One-on-one tutoring and being able to make a more personal connection and build a trusting relationship
• New buds on the Weeping Willow tree around the corner
• Enjoying the Happy Hour menu (sodas only) at a neighborhood restaurant with my husband
• Missing the squirrel that darted in front of my car on the way to work. (It was close!)
• My entire homeroom was present today
• Phone calls with both of my children
• Almost finishing my grading for the trimester
• My back hasn’t gotten stuck when I bend over
• Bird serenades in the morning
• Having one more tea bag left in my stash at school

I am sure I could find more if I sat here long enough. Today had it’s challenges; one being I had no breaks (or yesterday) because a special teacher was home sick. In my younger days that would have been enough to have me growling for days, and then no one would be happy. Now I know better.

What happy thoughts or memories are in your mind right now?