Things that make me happy

I will now jump on the bandwagon driven by Cavu and Voix and will attempt to list off a few things that I love. I don’t consider myself a particularly unhappy person, but finding 12 things for this list of love and happiness was tougher than I thought.

But here is what I have come up with so far:

1. Coffee with friends. There is simply no better way to start a Sunday than with good friends over a cup of coffee (or these days, a vanilla steamer), except maybe Sunday brunch (but not at W.A. Frost, see previous post). And these are the best kinds of friends and the best kinds of conversations, where the topic can range from politics to failing health of loved ones to spiritual retreats. We can cover hairstyles and our love for hoodies with the same passion and sincerity we assign our discussions of our lovers and our mothers and our jobs. Nothing is sacred and everything is revered.

2. This country. I am no Pollyanna. I fully understand that we are currently being led by the Antichrist who is slowly attempting to rob us of our freedoms and advance his own crusade at the expense of our young men and women not to mention the entire country of Iraq (deep breath). Those facts notwithstanding, I have lived in places where the separation between the socioeconomic classes was so vast that the rich literally stepped over the rows of cardboard box houses of the poor on their way to the mall. I have lived in a country where children were taught at an early age not to kick rocks on the ground because they might be concealed bombs. So in a world where everything is relative, I have to say, I love this country.

3. Early spring. When my dog starts refusing to come in, I know spring is near. He sits on the top step of the porch, his nose high up in the air. God only knows what he might be sniffing. Rotting leaves left over from last fall, the crazy dogs down the block that are too small to have been let out for any extended periods of time during the winter but are now running circles in their yard barking at the melting snow. The longer he sits outside without giving us that seal-bark signal to come in, the closer spring is. And with it…

4. Time spent on my porch. My only rule when we were house hunting: must have porch. And we have one. A tiny, open-air, only-good-for-three-months-a-year porch. I love it so much I have a photo of it as my screen saver at work. Seriously. We have plantation style furniture on it and I sit and read while Buddy digs for dead things in the yard. It’s my own modest slice of heaven.

5. My MFA program. I have to say that I was not thrilled with it at first. In one of my first classes (Sam can attest to this) there was a lovely girl who wrote lovely crap about butterflies and boyfriends. The teacher insisted that we be kind to everyone and begin each workshop by saying at least one nice thing. I was horrified. I was not paying an insane amount of money to be nice, and I certainly did not want anyone being nice to me if the truth was that I had no business being in a writing program in the first place. I seriously re-considered my choice. I knew the odds of getting into Iowa were slim, and I wasn’t sure I was ready for THAT type of cruel honesty. So I stayed. And I am so glad I did. Sadly, just as my time at Hamline is ending, I have met people that truly inspire and humble me while at the same time making me feel like I belong to the Cool Kids Club.

6. Speaking of butterflies and boyfriends, my husband, Tony is at the top of the things-that-make-me-happy list. I got lucky, and I know it. He is kind and generous and we have amazing Sunday afternoon conversations that last way past dinnertime. He knows every stupid mistake I have ever made and loves me anyway. He makes me laugh and he loves my dog. He makes up songs about him and carries him upstairs to bed when his arthritis (Buddy’s, not Tony’s) acts up. I could go on, but then I might get kicked out of the Cool Kids Club.

7. New York, where my friend Anna lives. I miss it in my bones. I love the food and the freedom and the craziness. I love the used bookstore in West Village and I love the cupcakes at Magnolia across the street even more. I love Joes’ Pizza on Carmine where I sit and eat greasy cheese slices while I wait for Anna to get off work so we can take the subway together to her ultra cool apartment in Brooklyn. And Serendipity, where the eight dollar frozen hot chocolate is totally worth the two hour wait because John Cuzack sat there in the movie with the same name. There is nothing I do not love about the city that never sleeps, probably because I don’t have to live there and everything is glorious and romantic when I visit. I love the Muse Hotel and I love that night we spent there, Anna and her sister and Tony and me all sitting together on the bed eating Chinese take-out and watching the last episode of Sex and the City and feeling oh so hip with the rush of Time Square on the street below.

There is more. Music and my family and bad reality shows. But that’s enough happiness for now. Tomorrow I may list the things I love about Lit 6, or maybe I’ll talk some more about my dog.