Just a few words into Amy Schwartz's
100 Things That Make Me Happy, I needed paper and my rhyming dictionary. She thoughtfully combines everyday sorts of objects and experiences (lest one think only things can bring about happiness) in rhymed pairs. And it is not just one character featured in the charming illustrations. Children and adults of many colors express joy in "grandma's lap/a ginger snap" and "chocolate chips/camping trips" and 96 assorted other things. I could not help but make my own list of things that make me smile, experience that cause gratitude to bubble within me, people whom I appreciate and adore.
Caramel apple pecan pie
A favorite pen always nearby
My own bed
Homemade bread
Earl Gray tea
Lighted Christmas tree
The book's brightly-striped end papers make me happy. So do the kids doing handstands and those holding hands. So do the rhymed pairs I have been composing. My list continues. I would love to know some of yours.
Penpals. Libraries. Children's books. Art. Accordion & fiddle music. White Christmas tree lights on the mantle. Walking down Main Street. Driving south from my town with views of the mountains & the Bay. I like some of Schwartz's other books & I think I'll enjoy this one.
ReplyDeleteMy tiny 'santas' I bring out and sprinkle about the house this time of year. I hit Goodwill all year lookin'.
ReplyDeleteMy fuzzy cats, food with sugar and fats
ReplyDeleteAuditing classes, avoiding the masses
Light and heat, don't take them for granted; the prickly old cactus that I have replanted
The kids that I read to at a local school; a reminder to think like this when life is not cool