Happy Things

In the attempt to find something interesting and/or exciting to blog about, I’ve kept my eyes and ears open the past two days. It’s funny how easily you can see the cool things in your life when you decide to look for them.

Sunday I was (finally) called in to meet with a member of my bishopric. (OK, in all fairness, I got a text last weekend to meet with the bishop, but it was Father’s Day and my father was here in Utah, so I got to go to church with him and spend the day with the family and I pushed the appointment back.) We all know what that means, right? I’ve been called (and sustained and set apart, all in one Sunday, thanks to the efficiency of a YSA ward that has learned to move fast) as…. a greeter. Yup, folks. That’s right. I’ve been called to stand at the entrance to the chapel (aka a lecture hall in the JFSB) and welcome my fellow ward members to Sacrament Meeting. Talk about easy. Not gonna lie: I’m happy about this for two reasons: one, I’m lazy; and two, I’ll be forced out of my comfort zone and into actually meeting people in my ward, if only for a few seconds every Sunday. Since this is a pretty low-key calling, the bishopric has asked me to be open to receiving another calling. At the same time, our ward boundaries were expanded this week, meaning we’re getting about forty more members, so I may not HAVE to have another calling, which would be super sweet. (Hey, I’m lazy, remember??) I did put my foot in it, though, and owned up to being able to play the piano. The First Counselor’s eyes and mouth crinkled into a smile with a hint of “hee hee hee hee hee… we’ve got you now!” I could see his hands rubbing together, his shoulders hunched, as he leaned down over me, cackling. But hey, it’s my fault for even saying anything, right? At the same time, he did mention something about a new committee (something about provident living, food storage, employment services??), and he asked if I’d be interested in teaching, so I guess we’ll see.

Today was pretty great. I was happy to be at work. (I know! Me! Happy to be at work!) It didn’t start out that way. When I got there, I was anything but happy and all I could think about was going home. But then it got better. I’ll tell you why. First, I just felt like I was dressed in “office appropriate” clothing today. Not that I usually dress like a hobo or anything, but today I pulled out my cute grey pencil skirt that I rarely wear and found a nice dress-casual top to wear with it, and I just felt like I was decently dressed for the office. Second, I have a task this week and next that’s new to me and it’s not super complicated, but it does take some time which means I’m not totally bored out of my mind during our extra two hours when no one else is here. Third, it was pretty busy from about 10:30 till 3:30, and stayed pretty steady till we stopped seeing student at five. This means the day went by pretty fast, and I felt like I got a lot done—as opposed to going home thinking, “Did I even do anything important today?” Fourth, Marie and Jacob came to visit me today! And they had perfect timing: they came as soon as it slowed down, so I was able to take a break to walk and talk with them. It was really the best part of my day, especially since Marie shared her baked cookies with me and Jacob gave me a kiss, not to mention providing good laughs—Jacob kept referring to his Sobe as “Sophie,” which confused me at first, thinking he was talking about Mom and Dad’s dog, until I figured out he was talking about his pina colada drink stored in Marie’s fridge. And fifth, I’m listening to the 80’s Summer Playlist on Pandora. It’s just happy. They’re playing a good mix: some of my favorites, some I’ve never heard before, some pop, some hip-hop, some rock… it’s great!

I think this was a good experiment for me. It’s that whole “count your blessings” thing. It really does work to (at the very least) help you put things in perspective, and (at the greatest) help you see good and happiness in the small things.