Things That Make Me Smile

Today was the first day of my April break at school. I couldn't help but wake up smiling. That smile just seemed to continue non-stop for the rest of the day. If you know me, you know that I smile a lot. I just do. I'm not covering anything up. The happiness that I feel these days is genuine. I'm appreciative of things that I have in my life and of things that make up my day.

My teethy grin with lots of smile lines. I also have a crookedy
closed mouth smile thing that I do too. It's all smiling.

As I drove to Massachusetts to visit with friends, I found myself making a list of things that really made my smile even bigger. Kinda like the song from the Sound of Music, these are a few of my favorite things...that make me smile (in no particular order):

Sunny days
Dogs sticking their heads out of car windows with their ears flapping in the wind
Kiddie-sized, cherry-dipped, twist ice cream cones
My girls
Kissing
Other people smiling
Friends and family
Sexy boots
Being out in nature
Babies
Treasure hunting
Flashlights
Beer on tap
Moss
Clicky pens
Sweet-smelling women
Beautiful people
The number 11
Music. Especially live music
Marshes
Hugs
Walking barefoot on the beach
Motorcycles
Good pizza
Flowers and gardens
Japanese architecture
Boogie boarding
Life

What makes you smile? Is there something special that you know will just cheer you up? Or, something that amuses you so that you can't help but smile? Please share. That would make me smile.



@Ybbeige
http://facebook.com/barbarabeige
www.barbarabeige.com

Heartbreak 101

We all go through times in our lives when things seem so difficult. When sadness creeps in. When loss has happened. When our hearts break.

How can we get through the waves of overwhelming emotions that hit us? Tears flow uncontrollably and our hearts just ache as if they are actually breaking. I wonder how can my heart physically hurt like that?

I guess I can liken it to the pain of contractions during childbirth. Waves of intense physical pain take over every fiber of your being. They start with some time in between. But, then, that time shortens up until they just seem to hit you one after another without time to breathe in between.

Now, for loss and heartbreak, I’d say that’s opposite. The waves and pangs and pain we feel start off so close and fast. It’s hard to breathe in between the tears and hurt. With time, the waves finally start to lessen and diminish in strength and intensity.

So, then, time really does heal as they say. So does just trying to find something to smile about in between those moments of sadness. Little things. Anything. I find just the physical act of smiling can make me feel better.

We’ve all been through this. I’ve been through it more times than I’d like to admit. And, I have a feeling, it will happen again. More times than I want. I will get through it every time it does happen though. I have. I will. I know that I learn lessons from those times. I learn about other people. I learn about myself. I learn what I want, what I don’t want, what I need. It all just makes me stronger.

One of the things I have learned, too, is that we can’t regret anything. Every relationship leading to the loss has had good aspects to it. Yes, there might be some not so positive things that have happened…and those are our learning experiences. We also can’t control how other people feel. What was inside them that lead to what happened. We can only control ourselves and how we feel and act.

So, let’s focus on the positive of what was and take that good deep into our hearts to help us heal. Good thoughts and the good moments that happened are like little bandages putting us and our hearts back together. Tiny happy bandages, hope and time. That’s what heals hearts. And our hearts will heal.


What has helped you heal a broken heart? How long did it take? Please share your stories below.


@Ybbeige