This question is enough to bring forth a flood of words, but also a bit of panic. What if I couldn't think of an answer?
Last night, my son (who just turned 4) looked at me and said, "What makes you happy, Mommy?" I don't know if he was genuinely curious, or if he was scared that nothing made Mommy happy - he'd been in trouble quite a few times yesterday. My general response was, "Lots of things make me happy, Jaxson." Of course that was not a good enough answer, so he countered with, "Like what?"
After I caught my breath (crickets chirped briefly in my mind), I couldn't stem the flow of things that make me happy...
Getting to see a sunrise or sunset, rainbows, dancing in the rain, listening to rain, reading a good book, watching a movie with my loves, snuggling with my kids, cooking, eating really good food, dark chocolate, black coffee, making things with my hands (crafting, sewing), going to church, learning something new, making something for my kids, reading to my kids, Jaxson, Emelyn, spending time with my parents/brother/sister-in-law/husband/kids (especially when we all get along), the beach, taking a walk, experiencing a first with my kids, seeing my kids learn a new skill or get one "right," taking a nap, sleeping on clean sheets, a hot shower, dancing, singing (even if I am off-key), hot cocoa with lots of marshmallows, waiting for the first snowfall, watching icy snow glitter in the glow of street lamps, spending Thanksgiving with my family, our annual "special cabin" trip, camping, playing a game, gardening, canning, sitting on Mamaw's porch swing listening to the sounds of the woods, finding a perfect leaf in fall colors, butterflies, hearing birds sing, seeing a wild rabbit, having a home, still having more brown hair than silver hair, the sound of tree frogs chirruping instead of croaking, going fishing, eating a bowl of popcorn, driving through the country, seeing a dolphin, watching an electrical storm over the ocean, making shapes out of clouds, writing, drawing, coloring, flowers, handmade pottery...
I guess to that list I should add - having children who remind me that I have more things to be thankful for and happy about than things that make me sad. I asked him what made him happy, and one of the first things he said was, "Hugging you and loving you." All I could do was hug him and tell him that those two things make me very happy, too.
What would you say if your child asked you?
