A Happy Place

"Find your happy place," my friend tells me. This morning while talking to my BFF (aka my sister Katie) we discussed the idea of who we are at our very core. These two concepts, happy places and core, have been swirling around in my mind. So here's an initial stab at both...

I love reading chapter books to my kids when they're tucked in their beds, except for T-man who is usually rolling around on the floor. I love doing the "voices" and laughing or crying with my kids over the story. The best read-alouds we've done: Charlotte's Web, Edward Tulane, The Tale of Desperaux, and The Penderwicks (currently reading).

I'm very happy when I'm sitting down to eat with my family--especially if I've made a particularly yummy meal (last night I made a curry pork stir fry with red, yellow, and green bell peppers - delicious). Mind you, I really do not like the clean up, and I do not do well trying to cook with a baby underfoot. But it seems worth it when we're all sitting down together, talking and laughing and eating.

Baptisms. I really feel happy when I'm attending someone's baptism. I love watching a child dressed in white, seeing their parents get teary, feeling the spirit, and knowing that the child's testimony journey has officially begun. It is a time for me to re-examine my own beliefs and make goals for myself.

Anything with music. Attending Kennedy Center concerts of the National Symphony Orchestra, Broadway musicals, any-time-any-place musicals, singing with Molly Kay in sacrament meeting, singing on a stage, playing piano duets with Madi, listening to my ipod while writing or running. Music isn't a background soundtrack to my life. It is an essential character in my own personal story.

Nursing. I hesitate to write about this so publicly. But I love to nurse my babies. There is something so completely selfless, pure, and special about being able to nurture my child in such a personal way. Sometimes when Baby C is done eating and has fallen asleep in my arms, I take just a few extra minutes to hold her in the quietness, feel her soft hair in the crook of my arm, her sleepy-time warmth, her deep steady breathing.

Rainy days. I much prefer a rainy day over a sunny day. Wait, let me restate. In the middle of a string of sunny days, I find great satisfaction in a storm. Sometimes when the sun is shining, I feel pressure to get out to be sure to accomplish something big. Rainy days give me an excuse to stay in side. Bake cookies. Curl up with a good book. Slow down. Even stop.

Okay...that's a start. I think I'll add more later. But for anyone who reads this I'd love to know what your happy places are.