20 Things that make me happy

Being off work has given me much more time to think. I am determined not to rush myself into anything new, especially when I am so unsure of what I want to do. I want to do something that brings me joy and ultimately, makes me happy but in order to do that, I needed to think about what makes me happy. Over the last week I have compiled the below list of 20 things that make me truly happy. What’s on your list?

1. Getting up early, when most people are still sleeping, it feels magical, like I’m the only one awake and I have the world to myself for a few moments.
2. When I am driving and all the traffic lights are green as I go through. The universe is on my side and it’s going to be a good day.
3. When I beat the time on the Sat Nav. You say I will arrive at 2:30? We’ll see about that. Even 2 minutes earlier feels like a grand sense of achievement.
4. Getting into a freshly made bed. I don’t know what it is about clean sheets that makes me sleep better, maybe the exhaustion of changing the sheets?
5. The smell of books. I just love it! As much as I love the convenience of my kindle, it will never be the same as having an actual book.
6. When Toby chooses to come and snuggle with me. He’s VERY independent, but lately he has chosen to come and snuggle against my leg occasionally and I feel like I am finally being accepted.
7. When I do something that makes someone else happy. There is no feeling like it, it could be something as simple as making a cake for someone, but doing something for someone else and you can see their happiness, it’s addictive.
8. When it’s windy and raining outside and I am snuggled up inside with a hot chocolate. I have always loved watching the rain or snow, I’ve find it quite therapeutic.
9. Time with my family. I live an hour away from my parents and brothers, we all have pretty busy lives. We speak on the phone all the time but I love when we get together, it’s always more special as it’s not something we do all the time. We reminisce and laugh and it’s always fun, even in sad times we find joy in being together. Even though I haven’t lived at my parents for years, I always feel at home there with them.
10. Seeing someone I love really laugh. I love this it makes me feel relaxed and at peace to know that someone I care about is happy for those few brief moment of laughter. It normally makes me laugh too.
11. Time with the husband. Life is busy and although we live together, quality time isn’t something we have a lot of as there are always other distractions. Holidays & date nights are so precious to me, sometimes even a long car journey where we are just in each others company for a while. Just the two of us.
12. Ticking things off of my to do list. I love lists, but I also love nothing better than crossing things off of lists. What a sense of achievement! I have had to give myself a talking to though and remind myself that if something doesn’t get done I am not a failure! That took some getting used to.
13. Reading in the middle of the day. I usually read every night before I go to sleep but lately I’ve been trying to read during the day with a nice cup of tea, it could be a book, magazine or some articles I have added to my reading list, it feels like a little indulgence.
14. Solo road trips. I love doing a solo road trip, having some alone time with nothing but me and my thoughts, I often use this time to process things that have been playing on my mind. I can start the journey planning on doing one thing and when I arrive I’ve decided to take a completely different course.
15. Shopping trips with the mother. If you would have told me this as a child I would have laughed in your face. Every saturday, without fail, my brothers and I would be dragged to go shopping with my mum and Nan, sometimes my poor grandad was made to come along too. We went all over London and Essex and sometimes even Kent to try new places, made enjoyable only for brief moments of spending any pocket money we had (mine was usually in a stationary or book shop) nowadays, I look forward to these trips with my mum. It’s always Home Bargains & B&M, where will always buy something (usually quite a lot of things) we may head over to other shops but this usually gives us our fix and I bloody love it! We used to do it every few months but now it’s becoming more of a monthly occasion.
16. Watching the birds of the bird feeder. I started doing this a my friends house in Hereford, he has a beautiful garden and they get lots of different birds in that part of the UK, then when we went to Barbados, I was feeding the birds and made friends with Fred, before coming home I ordered a bird feeder for the garden, it’s so relaxing. The husband and I now have nicknames for the birds. Starlings we call the mafia, as they come down in groups and scare all the other birds off the feeder.
17. Writing. I’ve always loved it, I don’t really know why, it just feels like it’s what I am meant to do. Sometimes I will read something I’ve written a while back and think to myself “I wrote that, that’s not bad at all” It feels very natural to me and is the one thing I have always loved doing since I was a child. When I am writing, it feels like I am where I should be.
18. Being stroked. I swear I was a pet in a former life. I love the feeling of being touched, it’s so relaxing. I go for massages as often as possible.
19. Spending time with my friends. I am very fortunate to have amazing friends. These friendships have been nurtured for many years, some friends I see often and others not so much but when we do spend time together I truly do enjoy their company. I have so many memories with each of them and I am so grateful to have them in my life.
20. Thoughtfulness. When someone says or does something that truly shows they have thought about you. Sometimes just a random message, a favourite drink/food/song sent to you means the world, it’s always nice to know something is thinking of you.