A Whole List of Reasons to Smile

A Whole Lot of Reasons to Smile
By D.S. Mitchell
It’s Raining
It’s Sunday afternoon in fabulous Grants Pass, Oregon. The rain has been relentless for the last 48 hours. Lilly the dog, is sprawled out on the back deck. Its covered. While she’s entertaining herself chewing on her favorite tennis ball a few rain resistant ducks are playing in the lake. Frustrated with the endless deluge I flip through the cable news shows. I’m a regular Sunday viewer of Meet The Press and Fareed Zakaria’s GPS. I wanted a nice peaceful weekend, my morning coffee along with the political news shows, a game of cribbage in the afternoon, an 8 pm movie with a friend to finish the day. Well, that whole plan is shot. Mostly due to the inclement weather. But, even if the weather didn’t suck Trump is doing more saber rattling in the direction of Venezuela, keeping everyone on edge.
Spoiled Child Drama
Trump is like a spoiled child demanding every moment of his mother’s attention. I do not intend to go off on a rant. I promise, but, it does make you think, his mom took him off the nipple to soon. Despite, Trumps narcissism and his constant attention seeking I think we need to get your mind, and my mine, off the American Tragedy playing out in front of our eyes. So, my favorite distraction of the week, my Sunday version of a day-off, is imagining the simple things in life…those things that bring a quiet smile to the corners of your mouth.
Lots of Reasons to Smile:
1.) A Hummingbird at the garden feeder 2.) A day with no chores to do 3.) Left over spaghetti or cold pizza for breakfast. Yum Yum 4.) A chocolate “fix” 5.) The Nite Owl bar, Helena, MT 6.) A new mattress 7.) A bedroom with a window seat 7.) A scarecrow dressed in Daddy’s old coveralls and straw hat 8.) Short grocery lines, 9.) A fresh bouquet of flowers 10.) Homemade Lemonade 11.) 1940’s Film Noir 12.) Watching young swallows learn the art of flight 13.) Painting the front door a bright vivid color 14.) Working a potter’s wheel 15.) Spontaneous hugs 16.) Forgetting the punch line of a joke 17.) Libraries and librarians 18.) Using the dog to do left over clean up 19.) Fireworks 20.) Running boards on tall trucks 21.) The soft sound of a paddle cutting the water 22.) The patter of children’s feet on hardwood floors 23.) Crater Lake, Oregon 24.) Clean as you go 25.) Gingerbread loaded with melted butter 26.) Forming a Foundation to help fund a cause 27.) Talking with intelligence instead of just blowing smoke 28.) River barges 29.) Crisp and juicy apples 30.) Doing a good job 31.) Rich, delicate French pastry 32.) Floating homes 33.) Listening to the sounds of the night 34.) A secret crush 35.) Spontaneous kisses 36.) Writing 37.) Fresh homemade bread 39.) The aroma of Honeysuckle and Daphne 40.) Cloth napkins with napkin rings 41.) The American flag 42.) Lettuce fresh from the garden 43.) My car after the car wash 44.) Fessing up to an eff ‘up 45.) Honey Baked Ham 46.) A great painting found at a Thrift Store. 47.) Refreshing an old dresser with a coat of paint 48.) First ski run of the day 49.) Old English Sheepdogs 50.) Koala bears 51.) Rearranging the furniture for a party 52.) A banana split for two 53.) Travel magazines 54.) Swim meets 55.) Swans on Black Lake, Ilwaco, WA 56.) Wind across a field of wheat 57.) Twinkies 58.) New shoes 59.) Echoes 60.) The Olympics 61.) Mt. Vernon, VA 62.) Cheetahs in the wild 63.) Warm dry socks 64.) Mutts 65.) Sundance catalogues 66.) Buy one and get one free 67.) Making lists 68.) Pinto ponies 69.) Sneakers without socks 70.) Unicorns and rainbows 71.) Picnic tables 72.) Owning an island 73.) Walking the railroad tracks 74.) Habitat For Humanity 75.) A team of horses 76.) Weeping Willow trees 77.) 3-D movies 78.) Political comics 79.) Lawn parties 80.) Laughing babies 81.) Getting a makeover 82.) Up with the dawn 83.) Weathered shutters on shingled beach cottages 84.) Hopscotch 85.) Night snowmobiling 86.) Hit that high note 87.) Playing Frisbee with the dog 88.) Blanket tents in the backyard 89.) Club sandwiches 90.) Being on time 91.) Woodstock 92.) Snoopy 93.) Earth Day 94.) Catching a man’s eye 95.) Dream catchers 96.) Dogs 97.) Revolving doors 98.) Retirement 99.) Winning a race 100.) Puget Island, WA.
Keep smiling. Don’t let the chaos of the Trump administration steal your joy.
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