What brings you JOY?

As often as possible, I hope to share my thoughts and your answers to the question "What brings you joy?" In ways I am an ordinary person; in ways I am extraordinary. I've experienced great happiness, great sorrows, and amazing discoveries. I want to share my joys and to learn how the world uncovers the secrets of happiness each day. You can submit your JOY here: http://whatbringsyoujoy.tumblr.com/submit

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Mother's Day Reflections

From birth until I opened my eyes this morning, there have been people who have given me Unconditional Love and that brings me JOY!

[whatbringsyoujoy]

Dancing with my Husband at home

A Ryan Foret song Tee Na Na came on a Houma, La radio station this morning as we prepared breakfast: such a fun Swamp Pop song! I started dancing & my sweetheart joined me. We danced from kitchen to den to dining room smiling all the while; we can make our own magic and that brings me immense JOY!

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JOY on Hump Day

I turned on the radio as I headed to work & the song Brandy came on. I cranked up the volume: what a great sing-along song! It's amazing what singing at the top of your lungs will do to start a happy day & bring you JOY! Happy Hump Day; I love you!

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JOY in Waiting on a Special Visitor, my son !

There is always JOY in seeing those smiling eyes and getting a great big hug from my son!  I can't wait !

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What Brings You JOY on a Not So Joyful Day?

Sometimes we're sad, sometimes we're mad, and sometimes someone has hurt our feelings, or we're just generally pissy for no good reason, and we're not feeling so Joyful.  We want to slam a door, say some bad words, cry, or if we were a dog, we'd show our canines and growl or maybe just tuck our tails and sulk.  So what can we do?

We could go to a park and swing with the wind in our hair and be silly, take a walk, think about someone who cares about us & who would give us a hug the minute we asked, or focus on the tasks of the day avoiding passing this mood to someone else and find JOY in knowing that this too shall pass...and maybe tomorrow things will look differently.

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Sharing a Laugh Brings Me JOY

Sometimes reflecting on my most embarrassing or awkward moments, brings a smile to my face.  Sometimes you JUST have to laugh!

I have an older home that has a blue tub and blue toilet and of course, faux marble double sinks in blue too.  The toilet seat, also blue, was getting worn & looked dirty even when cleaned.  It was wooden so could be painted, but I was sure there was no "toilet seat blue" on the color charts. After a good cleaning, I took the thing off, & went to Lowe's.  Getting out of the car, I discreetly placed my package under my arm & headed to the paint department to have them match the paint.  That may have been the craziest thing they have ever had to match, and I told the guy how mortified I was to bring it in.  Being very professional, he assured me that he had seen it all.

I would love to have you share your embarrassing or funny moments.  Please share your, ahem, JOY !

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JOY in Connecting with Family

I am so happy to have found a cousin I haven't seen since childhood. I am enjoying getting to know her by email & hope to "meet" her in person later in the year.

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JOY in the Changing Seasons

We don't have dramatic season changes in Louisiana, but it always is a welcome change when the humidity gets a little lower, the air a little crisper and there are new things to plant for Fall.

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JOY accross the Ocean

I started my day visiting with my son who is in Shanghai, China with the wonderful technology of SKYPE.  It was to get ready for work while talking to him as though he were in the room.  It's not as good as a hug in person, but it was a JOYful way to start the day!

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What Brings Me Joy???? from Vicky

What brings me the most joy at this time in my life is my wonderful husband who has taken such great care of me for 38 years, I thank God everyday for him.  Then my wonderful kids and grandkids who are the other most precious gifts God gave to me.  They all bring much joy and happiness.

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Sitting Still = JOY

I seem to always be “coming” or “going”, and rarely just “being”. But every now and then, I just sit still on my patio watching the birds in the trees & enjoying their songs. It doesn’t get any better than this: thank you, God, for this beautiful moment.

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JOY as a Pretty Woman

Walking out of the mall with lots of pretty things ALL on sale, I felt like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman. Oooo, now to play dress up, twirling & modeling in the mirror!

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Having a Relaxing Bubble Bath is a Thing of JOY

After a hot Louisiana afternoon planting flowers just before dusk, I have been chased inside by mosquitoes. Not to worry, there is always tomorrow & more dirt to plant! To top off that fun, I’m going to take a nice relaxing bubble bath and look at the Burpee Seed catalog. My idea of heaven is flowers as far as the eye can see. Ahhh, JOY!

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The JOY is in the Dirt

After a long day at work sitting behind a desk followed by a drive with crazy traffic, there is nothing like a flat of flowers ready to plant. The JOY is in playing in the dirt. Today’s JOY was in the form of various colors of Vinca commonly known as periwinkles.

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JOY in Travel

Hearing the click, click, click of the wheels of my rolling luggage as I pulled it down the hall heading to the garage, I was excited with the adventure at hand.  There is JOY in travel:  seeing my loved ones have fun, exploring new places, staying at a very quaint old hotel full of beautiful antiques with bathrooms a littler bigger than a phone booth imagining it to be haunted, enjoying laughs with my son & my daughter talking about our excitement on the boogie boards in the surfing attraction, hiding behind the wall and then splashing people on the tubing river ride with crazy laughter, sharing a pizza on the hotel bed after a long day at a water park and having quiet times to talk away from everyday life. It had been 5 years since we visited Schlitterbahn water park together & we had a great time.  There is JOY in travel.  And tired, I'm happy to be home.

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Barb's JOY in the Chase

I have a bird story.  We have a screen enclosure over our pool.  It’s about 15 years old and the screen is starting to deteriorate.  One of the upper sections has come loose on one side, so there is a bit of a gap.  The other day, two birds got in.  We propped open one of the doors and were chasing them around with the pool net trying to get them out.  The dogs both chi-weenies were helping.  I’m sure this looked like some sort of bad comedy routine!  One of the birds swooped down too low and Coco got it.  Then we all went out in the grass, chasing Coco around trying to get him to drop the bird.  He didn’t want to give up his prize.  My husband Ron finally tackled him and got it.  We left the door propped open and waited until later, then went back and tried the whole thing over again.  We got the second bird herded toward the door and it was headed out, but flew a little too low and Coco got it too!  Again, we had to chase him all over the yard trying to get it away – he was trying to swallow it whole.  He was quite proud of his bird hunting and upset that we took them away!

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Secret Little Wishes Granted Bring JOY

I REALLY was not in the mood for a scheduled meeting this morning and I secretly wished it would be canceled.  Dashing into my office to check email on the way to the meeting, I noticed the messages light flashing on my phone.  Aha!  Unexpected JOY:  a message saying we did not have a quorum, so the meeting was canceled!  A little mental happy dance ensued.