Northern Apex

Happiness can be found in the most unexpected places as this spot-on smiley face on the surface of Mars attests. Today my happiness had roots in a swelling contentment that gradually burst forth into full blown joy, a cascade of small things that have so far added up to a great day.

I am chronically sleep-deprived, especially in the summer when the girls are up late and work beacons early, so beginning this Saturday by sleeping in for a total of almost 8 hours was a great start. I managed to coax the perfect cup of coffee out of my little 4 cup Everyday Living coffee maker, the neighborhood is quiet so Kerri can sleep after her night shift at the hospital, and the sun is beating down on my back deck like summer will never end. I brought the girls to the local waterpark for the afternoon and I have been alternating between reading Midwives by Chris Bohjalian and staring at the cloudless sky with a silly grin on my face. A very slight breeze whispers through the yard just enough to stir the windchimes hanging in the eaves, a long-ago, several-houses-back house-warming gift from my baby sister Boo. What's not to love?