This month has been rough, no doubt about it. It seems to be the winter from hell, as far as germs are concerned. Since the semester started a month ago, I’ve had two separate stomach bugs, a strep and sinus infection combo, and now a cold. And it’s not just me–my family members and schoolmates with normal immune systems have been sick almost as much! So what are we to do? Well we could dwell on our misfortune. We could freak out about the Petri dish in which we must live our daily lives (and trust me I have). But a monk from Vietnam I’ve been reading recently might have a better idea; in Peace is Every Step Thich Nhat Hanh talks a lot about mindfulness. At a really basic level, I think of mindfulness as noticing the beauty and little blessings all around us every day. So this week I made a list of 100 of those little things that make me happy.

1. Random 60 degree days in the middle of winter #Virginia
2. Opening a new tube of toothpaste
3. Waking up without a headache
4. Being called “aunty randa” (by my niece- from anyone else that would be weird)
5. The space heater in my room
6. Chocolate
7. Purring cuddles from my kitty
8. Purple and orange sunsets
9. Not having to be on antibiotics
10. My flannel sheets- so cozy
11. My flying pig pj pants
12. Having time to read for fun
13. Finishing a long reading for class that seemed like it would never end
14. Class being cancelled
15. Goodbye/Goodnight kisses from nieces
16. Family movie nights/ infusion nights
17. Acing an assignment
18. Texts from my parents, always politely signed Love Dad/Mom at the bottom so I know who they’re from
19. Family dinners
20. Getting a chance to play the piano
21. Being treated by a doctor as an equal partner in my care
22. Walks
23. Feeling my room get lighter in the early morning when I can’t sleep
24. Corny jokes- especially my dad’s
25. Pictures of lighthouses
26. The sound of rain at night
27. A cup of hot cocoa
28. Coloring
29. Birds singing/ chirping
30. Baby/ toddler giggles
31. Finding a great parking spot
32. Autumn leaves
33. The smell after a spring rain storm
34. Getting a great night’s sleep
35. Listening to scores from my favorite movies (HP, LOTR, Hunger Games, etc)
36. Parks and Rec
37. Making others laugh
38. Deep conversations with people I care about
39. Hot showers
40. Getting my back to pop
41. Finding a favorite pen and then writing with it
42. Learning something new
43. Writing on the thick, smooth side of the notebook
44. An empty laundry basket
45. An empty sink
46. Having special chocolate in a secret chocolate stash
47. Stealing chocolate from my dad’s “secret” chocolate stash
48. Fresh mangoes and pineapples
49. Getting through my entire To Do list
50. Sweatpants and hoodies
51. Finishing a bottle of antibiotics/ steroids/ other loathed medicine
52. When anyone, especially a professor says “as it were”
53. Quoting favorite tv shows/ movies/ books whether or not they are actually applicable to the situation
54. Being greeted by one or more wagging tails at the door
55. Cold nose kisses from my cat that often jerk me awake at night (I think she thinks it’s funny)
56. Having a fire in the fireplace (and therefore having an actual fire place)
57. Remembering what I’ve been trying to remember that’s been driving me crazy
58. Putting on a clean pair of socks
59. Remembering everything I needed at the grocery store
60. Freshly changed sheets
61. Having no copay
62. My cat socks
63. Spontaneous study breaks when a niece or two or three escapes their parents and wanders into my room
64. Every day, hour, minute I’m not sick or in a lot of pain
65. A clean and organized work space
66. When I know just what to write
67. Finishing an essay
68. Eating solid food without pain/nausea
69. Pulling out the needles at the end of an infusion
70. Waking up and knowing I don’t have to go anywhere that day
71. Getting to go to church on Sunday
72. Not having to rush in the morning
73. Doing something outside my comfort zone (it’s a very small zone)
74. Alone time
75. Feeling good enough to work out
76. Waking up without an alarm clock
77. When a medicine has no bad side effects– oh wait that doesn’t happen… When a medicine has relatively few bad side effects…
78. Cozy sweaters
79. Reading a good poem
80. Stepping on crunchy leaves
81. Feeling my kitty at the foot of my bed when I turn over in the night
82. Pictures of Christ
83. Skyping/Face Timing the parentals on Sunday
84. The smell of brownies baking (or any goody really)
85. Getting a big glob of mucus out of my chest or sinuses
86. Not coughing (remember I had whooping cough earlier this year so the last few months not coughing has been the cherished exception)
87. When I catch someone doing something silly because they think they’re alone
88. Anything Harry Potter
89. The abridged version of Les Mis (so much easier to readdddd)
90. Old fashion soda bottles
91. Miniature pigs (I will have one someday!)
92. Documentaries/ books about inspiring people
93. Psych and Monk being on Amazon Video now
94. Warm clothes fresh from the dryer
95. Sunshiny days
96. Watching lightning during a thunder storm (if it hasn’t already given me a migraine that is)
97. Naps
98. Christmas lights
99. Finding a good song on the radio
100. Jar tops that go clicky-clack

Dad’s “secret stash”

Bestower of nose kisses

Flying pig pjs and kitty socks #thuglife