{"id":379478,"date":"2014-04-07T01:24:00","date_gmt":"2014-04-07T01:24:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/2014\/04\/07\/50-first-smiles\/"},"modified":"2014-04-07T01:24:00","modified_gmt":"2014-04-07T01:24:00","slug":"50-first-smiles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/2014\/04\/07\/50-first-smiles\/","title":{"rendered":"50 First Smiles"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
Wow\u2026it\u2019s Sunday\u2026already\u2026<\/span><\/div>\n
Wherever did this week go?<\/span><\/div>\n
Oh, yes, I know…<\/span><\/div>\n
It evaporated in a daily series of phone calls and my ongoing research to meet new people and make new connections in this vast cyber sphere\u2026<\/span><\/div>\n
One of the disadvantages of living in a small town is that of limited easy access to global information\u2026<\/span><\/div>\n
In this instance, I had a little trouble finding someone who could give me details I needed regarding vaccinations we\u2019ll need if we accompany Fave to South Africa in June.<\/span><\/div>\n
Of course there are many fantastic people in our small area, and I ultimately did land on just what I needed\u2026it just took a little extra effort\u2026<\/span><\/div>\n
When I wasn\u2019t focused on that, I was working to promote my upcoming discussion in the Syracuse area and learning a new language called Listserv<\/i>\u2026<\/span><\/div>\n
I must say, a sense of accomplishment definitely feeds my happy.<\/span><\/div>\n
But the best part of these past days came at the end.<\/span><\/div>\n
The week culminated with prom and another gathering of some fabulous young men and women at our house.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/a><\/div>\n
<\/a><\/div>\n
Bags of tuxes filled our laundry room<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

It seems a bit surreal that my youngest is only a year away from leaving the nest.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
SAT tests and college exploration and prom\u2026<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
A second week of laughter and camaraderie and company to fill this big ole house and that happy organ near my heart\u2026<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/a><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
One of our good friends brought along his Junior prom picture, spurring all of us to reminisce about our own events.<\/span><\/div>\n
Here’s my prom photo.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n
And you want to hear something really weird?!<\/span><\/div>\n
That orange sofa and the coffe table in my photo? They’re the same pieces of furniture in the photo with my son and his friends! No joke…<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
This morning, as I recover from a late night and little sleep, I scanned through my DVR\u2019d list and settled on 50 First Dates<\/i>.<\/span><\/div>\n
Most of Adam Sandler\u2019s humor is lost on me, but I have to say I adore him in this film.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/a><\/div>\n
And who can resist Drew Barrymore? Isn\u2019t she just the most charming and irresistible actress?<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/a><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

And talk about perseverance and determination and guts and fortitude\u2026she epitomizes our human ability to pull ourselves up out of the depths of a toxic life and to move forward in living the very best existence we can\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

And speaking of living our very best personal, professional, and philanthropic lives, even in wake of adversity, I completed that grant application for The Five Facets Philosophy<\/span><\/a><\/i> on healing, and submitted it with a day to spare\u2026.<\/span><\/div>\n
If I\u2019m successful in that endeavor, then I will have others who are as passionate about this premise as I am, people who will also become messengers of this plan to help people when they are ready to transition from grief into healing\u2026<\/span><\/div>\n
Right now, 50 First Dates<\/i> is halfway through a second run. Sharing a night stroll on the beach, Lucy has just asked Henry to tell her a little about himself.<\/span><\/div>\n
He replies that he\u2019s won seven, all-you-can-eat-chicken-wing contests and that he\u2019s a ballet dancer\u2026<\/span><\/div>\n
Imagine Adam Sandler in a tutu and tight little slippers\u2026<\/span><\/div>\n
That right there\u2019s another dose of happy, Journeyer\u2026humor\u2026<\/span><\/div>\n
Thank you Drew and Adam and you, Journeyer (for every time I see your visit show up on my little visitor counter, I smile) for enriching my life and making my world a brighter place\u2026<\/span><\/div>\n
You know what? It just dawned on me\u2026this Happy Happens column is a bit like the 50 First Dates<\/i> concept. You see, our Happy seems to get lost in translation, as if the Unhappy is our own sort of damaged frontal lobe.<\/span><\/div>\n
Even more so, I happen to love the notion of 50 First Smiles, as if each second of joy is like we\u2019re experiencing it for the first time, like the first kisses that Henry and Lucy had over and over again.<\/span><\/div>\n
Think about that! Imagine how much more impact those fleeting smiles would have on our lives!<\/span><\/div>\n
And one more smile before I go: My tulips are sprouting! Fresh greenery! Spring is finally here!!!<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/a><\/div>\n
After this winter, that’s definitely something to rejoice!!!<\/span><\/div>\n
What about you? What Moment(s) from the past week felt like one of your 50 First Smiles?<\/span><\/div>\n
Until next week\u2026keep on paying homage to all those events that bring you joy, even those simplest, seemingly innocuous instances that try to flit right past you\u2026<\/span><\/div>\n
Soon\u2026<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Wow\u2026it\u2019s Sunday\u2026already\u2026 Wherever did this week go? Oh, yes, I know… It evaporated in a daily series of phone calls and my ongoing research to meet new people and make new connections in this vast cyber sphere\u2026 One of the disadvantages of living in a small town is that of limited easy access to global […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3533,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[316,1198,1199,1200,1201,317,1202,320,600],"class_list":["post-379478","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-happyhappens","tag-50-first-dates","tag-adam-sandler","tag-big-guy","tag-drew-barrymore","tag-finding-happiness-in-your-day","tag-prom","tag-random-happiness","tag-tulip-bulbs"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Prom-Cookie.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/379478","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=379478"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/379478\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3533"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=379478"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=379478"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=379478"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}