52 Weeks of Happiness Week 30

I can't even describe the happiness I had this past Saturday night. The only wrench thrown in was that I wasn't able to have a date night with hubby, but it turned out to be exactly as it should have been. I took one of my closest friends to see my VERY favorite musical of all time...Les Miserables.

When I was 8, my parents took me and my sister to see the 3 hour long heavy musical. They wondered if I was too young.

Literally, I was on the edge of my seat and didn't want to blink to miss a moment.

The music has captured me since. I saw it again when I was 10, then 15, then 20, and not since. It had been so very influential and beautiful to me, that I cried a little more each time I saw it. By the fourth time (and this past Saturday), I cried off an on (through the entire production) as soon as I heard the first notes. It's a part of my childhood that has grown with me and I have taken in my heart for 20 plus years.

The 25th anniversary showed many set changes, but the music still rang as beautiful as the day I remember and first saw it. Song after beautiful song, I am truly entranced.

Words could never do justice to what the music does to my soul, to my heart. I burst with its with beauty and the release I feel from the tears I cry is just a bonus.

Here is the marquee for this week's picture.



THIS was bliss.

52 Weeks of Happiness, Week 7

I just looked over the past 6 weeks of Happiness photos, and I was surpised at what I didn't see. I thought for sure I'd put up pictures of my son, but sure enough, none have been put up yet!

And he makes me wildly happy.

I'm not sure if it's a new (by choice) medicine I'm on or just spring fever, but I find myself recently kind of down. Like my brain chemistry is kind of off. Who knows, and I'll get to the bottom of it, but in the meantime...my son can send a cloudy day far, far away and bring in sunshine, rainbows, and everything else wonderful.

Yesterday was one of those days. Long meeting after work. Kids were out of control (spring fever, anyone!?), and I was not happy on my way home, despite the wonderfully beautiful spring day.

But as I pulled in to pick up my son, everything changed. I was euphoric.

When I got home, I started making his dinner, and it got a little quiet (uh-oh!) in the other room. I went in to check on him and I saw this...



My sweet guy had gotten himself completely on his rocking horse and was going to town! It made me so happy to know how wonderfully his development is going and how lucky and happy I am that he is so healthy. (Knock on wood)

He makes me wildly happy, even on those frustrating mom days. I still am happy I get to be a mom, otherwise, I would be deprived of this tremendous love.

Disaster to Euphoria

Picture it.

First day of Spring Break. Beautiful day. Outside with hubby and friend shoveling mulch (them, not me). I am taking a picture with my GLORIOUS iphone. Then I was wiping off the precious screen. And my butter fingers came out full-force, and it fell. On the concrete. Over half of the screen was shattered. I was devastated.

I have had this phone for three months. It was my anniversary present. My school computer kinda sucks, so my phone is pretty much my computer. Until this phone, I'd never had one so useful. All the other ones sounded great when I got them, but then promptly broke or malfunctioned or something. But at least I could make a phone call. For us underpaid teachers, this is my true luxury. I LOVE this phone. And I was terrified at what this was going to cost us. It was nowhere in the budget to fix things like this.

I made a few phone calls to people I knew had had something similar happen. They are all very good Mac customers, and Apple had replaced their phones, free of charge.

It was my only hope.

So, I made an appointment at the Genius Bar in the Apple store, and they took me a little early. I was actually nervous. Money makes me very nervous and it's a source of tremendous stress for me. Always has been. Michael at the Apple store helped me. Listened to my story. Here I am, trying to look cute with my baby on my hip, and rehashed the fact that I was sick this week, and how awful it was... I told him it was functioning except that when I made calls, the other person couldn't hear me. He listened, and said he was going to make a "one time exception." He sent me home with a new phone. I was in and out in 15 minutes. I had backed up, so when I re-synced with hubby's good computer, it was like NOTHING had ever happened.

When I left the Apple store, after profusely thanking him, I almost cried in the car. I was very close. I was BEYOND relieved that this would not cost our family anything.

I don't know if it's a policy at Apple to help people like me out, but whatever the reason, I thank them for bringing such happiness to me. This is NOT temporary happiness. It's not just "how nice that was!" If not for this, I'd have had to have paid SO much, for my clumsiness.

It's a tremendously SIGNIFICANT happiness moment for me, that will last a LONG time.