When I ask someone what makes them happy, most pause; it is something we don’t think about. There is no ongoing state of happiness; we need to continuously feed the feeling. It may be events or people. It may be thoughts or experiences. It can be the sun, a joke, a child, an animal, or a memory. It can be an awareness.

Make it happen.

Today is the 27th anniversary of an auto accident I was in that left me with 13 broken bones, two skull fractures, and frontal lobe brain damage. I was in a forced coma for the first five weeks until they decided I would survive. Not shocking for those who know me, I had decided to survive immediately.

We can do it.

There are a few of us who have met for several weeks. There is no agenda. We share issues we have, interests we have, and anything else that we want to explore. It is wonderful to be listened to and to discover others who have similar experiences or concerns.

People are valuable.

I had cataract surgery. My eyes were done two weeks apart. The biggest challenge was keeping track of the eye drop schedule, as each eye was different. I only have one week to go with the second eye.

Achievement.

Cars keep getting closer to the ground. I rented a car and discovered getting into it is not easy. It is lower than mine, which is lower than the prior car I had. I keep reminding myself it is a temporary situation.

Aging.

A smoke detector started to ping. The battery needed to be replaced. I will no longer climb up to replace bulbs or batteries. I asked my neighbor Zac. He graciously did it and offered help for whatever in the future.

Good guy.

The family went to the house in Cazadero to celebrate my birthday for the weekend. It was wonderful. It ended with us viewing pictures on the television of the Rice family’s trip to New Zealand. When it ended, Erik said, “The next slide show,” and a picture came up of me when I was three. It continued with pictures from my whole life, put together by Jules. Everyone had participated.

Yes, I cried.

Julie took me to Trader Joe’s. The goal was to introduce me, believing I would be wise to shop there. She suggested I bring in a shopping bag. We explored. I bought nothing.

She bought gummies.

I am encouraged by my kids to shop at Trader Joe’s. I am not familiar with the store. Ari is getting their driver’s license, and they told me they would come over and introduce me to the store, aisle by aisle. They reminded me that I did that with them at Costco.

A tradeoff.

Carrie invited herself over for lunch next Sunday. Being the sacrificial mother that I am, I said yes. This means I will not be able to stay in my pajamas, my ritual for Sundays, because we decided on a restaurant to go to.

Children are so special.