The other day I found myself thinking about all the things that still make me smile. Life has changed a lot over the last few years, and if I’m being honest, there were times when I wasn’t sure smiling would ever come easily again. Between grief, health issues, chronic pain, anxiety, and everything else life has decided to throw at me, there have been some pretty difficult seasons. But even in the middle of all that, there are still things that make me smile every single day.

The first one is Nicole.

Even now, she can make me smile through the tears. I don’t think she ever truly understood how much I loved her or how proud I was of her. I still am. Sometimes I’ll be looking through old photos or a memory will pop into my head out of nowhere and suddenly I’m smiling. Other times I’m laughing. And sometimes I’m doing both while crying. Grief is strange that way. It doesn’t ever really leave. It just becomes something you learn to carry with you.

One of my favorite memories is from when Nikki was about two years old. It was Christmas morning and somehow she managed to sit on a bow from one of her presents. The bow stuck right to her little bum and she wandered around completely unaware while the rest of us laughed so hard we could barely breathe. I can still hear her giggling. It’s funny how those little moments become some of the biggest treasures later on.

Life still finds ways to make me laugh too. Just the other morning there was a knock at my door. I hobbled over thinking it was probably something quick. Nope. There stood the workers ready to install the new heat and air conditioning units. Meanwhile, I’m standing there in my pajamas and housecoat looking like I had just survived a natural disaster. 😹 Looking back now, it’s pretty funny, although I wasn’t feeling quite so glamorous at the time.

The older I get, the more I realize happiness isn’t what I thought it was when I was younger. Back then I thought happiness came from other people, relationships, having lots of friends, and everything around me falling into place. Now I think it starts from within. It starts with protecting your peace and appreciating the people who genuinely care about you. There are a few people who can instantly make me smile when I see their name pop up on my phone. They know who they are. Sometimes it’s a funny meme, sometimes it’s a quick check-in, and sometimes it’s just someone taking a moment to remind me I’m not alone. Those little things matter more than people realize.

And then there’s Sir Kit Kat. We spend a lot of time together, and I’m fairly certain he believes he runs the apartment. Some days I think he keeps a notebook of complaints about my service standards. Other days he’s perfectly happy curled up beside me while I drink my coffee. Either way, he manages to make me smile every single day.

I’ve also learned to appreciate things I never would have thought twice about years ago. A quiet morning. A good conversation. A successful day in the kitchen. A nap when my back is screaming at me. Even something as simple as our new heat and air conditioning units. Younger Shelly never would have believed she’d be this excited about heating and cooling, but here we are. 😹

Dad used to tell me that laughter is the best medicine. I believed him then and I still believe him now. There have been times in my life when laughter carried me through days that otherwise felt impossible. Sometimes all you can do is laugh at yourself, shake your head, and keep moving forward.

I think that’s what I’ve learned lately. When life gets hard, we get so focused on everything that’s wrong that we forget to notice what’s still right. The things that make us smile aren’t always big things. Sometimes they’re memories. Sometimes they’re people. Sometimes they’re quiet moments. Sometimes they’re cats with an overinflated sense of importance. 😹 But they’re there if we’re willing to look for them.

And maybe that’s the real lesson. No matter how difficult life gets, there is still joy to be found. Sometimes you just have to open your eyes and notice it.

💬 What’s something that made you smile this week? 💜

Until next time,

Shelly Rand

Real Talk. Real Life. Real Connections. 💜