hello, friends. hope your week has gotten off to a grand start. the last few days were good ones for us; em went ice skating for the first time, my concertizing went well, we did indeed find time for that family bruncheon, and the sun looks like it’s sticking around for a while.

good stuff.

if i’m being honest, though, i’ve got to admit that feeling a just a little melodramatically cranky (the kind of cranky that makes me want to lecture young people and grown men on the bus when they don’t give up their seats for the elderly, while at the same time wanting to lecture the elderly about how to get the heck out of my way when i’m trying to walk down the right side of the sidewalk, which should be easy enough as long as no one slowly and oppressively takes up the entire sidewalk, even though the sidewalks obviously have room for a slow-lane and a passing lane… the kind of cranky that makes me want to roll my eyes and laugh out loud at annoying mean-people (and every clerk at every Duane Reade). this particular cranky happens every month or so, and i know it well enough to just keep my headphones on, only dare speak to people i really really like, and take a deep breath and think before any sort of outburst.

these cyclical annoyances aside, i think i’m a pretty positive person (some of you that know me too well are laughing at that sentence. i don’t mean i never *vent* or enjoy a good laugh at idiocy, i just mean, well, i think that despite some pretty big daily challenges that i have to deal with, i generally feel….happy). on the wall in our walk-in closet, i keep a copy of bruce mau’s incomplete manifest for growth. i read it every few days, and it grounds me a little bit. one of the lists i’ve been making this year (in my brand new moleskine journal) is a manifesto of my own. sometimes i don’t notice how happy these things make me until i’ve forgotten to do them…. this collection of ramblings is helping me recognize just how much these little details matter in my own big happy picture.

the beginnings of my happy-life manifesto (your details may vary):

~ always make your bed in the morning. it only takes a couple minutes, and this orderliness helps establish your state of mind for the whole day. (i’m kind of crazy about this. if for some reason the bed is un-made at bedtime, i have to fully make the bed before i can climb in and go to sleep. did i say kind of crazy?)

~ don’t leave dirty dishes in the sink (they just add to clutter and become one more thing “to do”). wash them as you use them…

~ wear the things that make you happy. the other day, somebody said she liked my red cowgirl boots but wasn’t sure she’d “ever have the nerve to wear them”. i don’t think it’s about ‘nerve’. i like the way they feel, i like the way they look, and i’m not trying to follow some fashion trend; i never have thought about what other people might think. not when it comes to shoes, anyway.

~ along those same lines: eat off your favorite dishes (why bother having ‘good china’ if you’re not going to enjoy it?), wear colorful accessories, and go ahead and dye your hair blonde even if you’ve been a redhead for more than half your life…

~ smile at people. often. (be warned, though: when i was let go from my first temp job in the city, many years and many jobs ago, my boss said this in her review of me “she smiles too much. anyone who smiles that much is probably hiding something.” ….but see? smiling so much saved me from having to work with a crazy-bitter person like that! also, for the record: i’m not hiding anything. i’m just from the midwest; we’re smiley folks.)

~ sing and/or dance every day. if it happens to be your job to sing (wow, what a great job, huh?), sing something completely unrelated to your work. the idea is to let go and remember how soothing and amazing music can be. like the beastie boys said in that immortal song professor booty, “i been through many times in which i thought i might lose it. the only thing that saved me has always been music.”

~ laugh out loud. every day. my very favorite moments in life involve crying because i’m laughing so hysterically. total release.

~ if you love somebody, tell them you love them. your friends, your family, that one colleague you always look forward to seeing… whatever words you need to use, just take time to tell people they mean something to you. this has an exponential energy about it; you’ll start to notice more things and people you love, and they will too…

~ be who you are. keep trying to be a better version of yourself, but don’t ever think you’re supposed to be anybody other than yourself.

~ notice the little things around you. what were the colors of the sunset today? when are those tulips going to finally open their buds? where the heck do all those sidewalk paperclips come from?

~ whenever you’re feeling confused and solitary, read The Little Prince. it’s wise. and sad.

~ keep fresh flowers in the house as often as you can. i’m a big fan of inexpensive bouquets and single stems of beautiful color.

~ when all else fails: be sure to have a secret stash of very good chocolate. save it for a rainy day and replenish as needed.

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