Since Maddie asked for five things that make me happy, I thought I'd answer. First, there are many things that make me happy, but many of these five reoccur daily, so I thought I'd use these.
1. Hugs and kisses from my daughters. At my house, we start each morning with a hug good morning and a kiss on the cheek. If I am lucky, this reoccurs throughout the day! If not, at bedtime each girl gives me a hug and a kiss good night. I also use that time to tell them that I love them. Although I tell that to them throughout the day as well, I like to reinforce it at night anyway. Life is too short not to tell those you love that you do actually love them. I found that out the hard way with my wife, and I am not going to repeat that mistake with my daughters. 2. My first cup of coffee. What can I say? If you drink coffee, then you know what I am talking about. If you don't, then you will never know what you are missing! If I had to describe my first cup of coffee I might say "Nectar of the Gods!" Anyway, could I live without coffee? Sure. But I just see no reason to do that. I like a nice hot cup of coffee in the morning to relax with. The rest of the coffee I drink during the day is okay, but the first cup is certainly my favorite. 3. Looking at the woods outside my office window. Yep, during the fall I love to watch the leaves change color. During the winter, I like to watch the snow fall silently among the trees (as it is doing now), and during the spring and summer I like to look at the wall of green and search for animals as they move through the brush. I see deer, squirrels and raccoon. Turkeys waddle by occasionally, and I have seen ground hogs and fisher cats too. "The woods are lovely, dark and deep, But I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep." I always think of that poem when I look out my window and it is snowing. I love my woods, and my work is the promise that I have to keep. Still, there is something about the silence and stillness of the woods that just calls to me. 4. The view I get of Mt. Monadnock as I drive to karate. Okay, so this doesn't happen daily, but it happens often enough so that it seems daily. Actually, I can see the mountain from many places when I am driving around my area. The view gives me pleasure, because it reminds me of what I moved away from. The traffic, the overbuilding and the noise. After working in New York city for about 25 years, it was time for a change. My only regret is that my wife didn't live longer to enjoy it with me. In our lives, we all have decisions to make. Mt. Monadnock is a daily reminder that I made the right decision. To know that my girls are growing up with the sheer beauty of this area as a backdrop to their lives makes me happy. Let others chase a buck, raising my daughters is much more important to me...and the mountain symbolizes that to me. 5. The thrill of learning something new. I have to admit it, I am an information junkie. It doesn't matter too much to me what I am learning, it is just the fact that I am increasing my knowledge. I love to read about history or science or try new things. To me, learning doesn't just come from books. It comes from doing new things too. I love to hike and see new areas ...or old areas in new ways. I like to try to do things that I find difficult and take on-line courses. I love to read, and I will read numerous articles during the week on a number of different subjects. I learn things from all of these experiences. In the end, I love to think. I don't want someone to tell me what to think. Instead, I want to take in all the information that I can, and make my own decisions about what it all means. A life without learning is drudgery. I hope that I instill a great love of learning into my girls. Because seriously, thinking and learning is what separates man from animals. To paraphrase Bruce Lee: " A wise man learns more from a fool than a fool learns from a wise man." Be wise, learn to love to learn! Well, there are five things that I love. Funny how none of those things are really material in nature. Watching TV, you would think that happiness only comes from manufactured products. That's why I don't watch TV! TV is an opiate for the masses. It make me happy to avoid it as much as I can.
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