Today was a rare cloudy and rainy day in central Florida. It doesn’t happen very often, but when it does, it reminds me of those cold, cloudy winters in Wisconsin. I don’t miss those days at all. I’m pretty sure I dealt with Seasonal Affective Disorder on more than one occasion. Generally speaking, dark days are down days for me. It doesn’t help that it’s tax season, or that the check engine light is on in my wife’s car. So as I sat down to write, I needed to think some happy thoughts.

Here are ten things to be happy about right now:

1. Incredible technology. I heard an interview today with Steve Case, founder of AOL. I was reminded what life was like before we had email and the internet. Those technologies (usually) make life easier, and that makes me happy.
2. Baseball is back. The pageantry and colors of opening day were enough to bring a smile to my face.
3. Rain is a blessing. As much as I don’t like the dark skies, we desperately needed the rain in our area. We were going through a short drought. The grass was brown. After today’s rain it’s already greener. Green is a happy color.
4. Babies bring a smile. We got to spend the day with our grandson, Crosby, yesterday. All I can say is he makes me smile. A lot.
5. New music. Our son, Ben, just released a brand new EP filled with five new songs. It just so happened that his EP was selected to be on the front page of iTunes featuring new music. Not only did that make me happy, but Ben created a Spotify playlist that introduced me to some great new music that I hadn’t heard before.
6. Co-workers and helpers. I’m amazed by the people I get to work with. They do their work so well, and are so talented at stuff that is beyond my talents and capability. In addition, we’ve got some very faithful volunteers at our church who amaze me at the many ways they give so freely of their time.
7. Adventurous people. From the comfort of my home I get to follow the travels and travails of adventurous people. I personally know two people right now who are traveling the country and living out of their converted vans. Man, I (sometimes) envy them.
8. Prayers answered in a humanly pleasing way. One of the dear members of our church has been praying (and we’ve been praying along with her) for a healing of cancer. She just found out, after treatment, that she’s cancer free.
9. Interesting podcasts. What a wonderful invention podcasts are for someone who has to be in a car a great deal of the time. It’s like learning on wheels. I recently discovered the podcast, “How I Built This.” I can’t get enough of it.
10. White Noise Machines. We just got a new white noise machine. It really helps me sleep. Our previous one lasted over fifteen years. This is the new one we got. It’s the little things in life.

What’s making you happy today?