Three things that made me smile today:
1. We woke up today to single degree temperatures. By the time our crew was collected and on the way to work and school, the thermometer had inched up to 12 degrees. Nevertheless, when I drove past the shopping center wherein lies the Liberty Financial Group, there she was, The Statue of Liberty. Or, more precisely, a poor, unfortunate college student trying to raise money for textbooks, dressed in a foam rubber Statue of Liberty costume. And what was she doing to keep warm? She was dancing.
Not just shifting back and forth from foot to foot mind you, but wildly gyrating, kicking, and pumping the air triumphantly with her fists, grinning all the while at passing cars, as if to say, “Can you believe I get paid for having this much fun?” I couldn’t help but smile back, a smile that got a little bigger every time I thought of her today—Lady Liberty doing the Freedom Boogie.
2. Shopping at Best Buy this afternoon, I came across an odd sight. Picture a biker. Leather jacket, five o’clock shadow, big boots, and muscles fighting each other for space on his shoulders and forearms. That’s the guy I saw as I walked through one of the aisles in the back of the store. When I got closer, I heard him talking to someone I couldn’t see in a strange, high-pitched, sing-song voice, the way mothers talk to their babies sometimes. The truth wasn’t far off. When he turned around, I saw he was, in fact, wearing a baby carrier on his chest, and inside it was a dog so tiny and fluffy that it put Paris Hilton’s Chihuahua, Tinkerbell, to shame. Seeing this tough guy so totally gaga over his pint-sized pooch gave me my second silly grin of the day.
3. Smile number three should actually be listed under Number Two. As in poop. Poop doesn’t usually make me happy, but this particular poop was at the bottom of the toilet, where it belonged, and that sent me over the moon with glee! Yes, friends and neighbors, the Recalcitrant Potty Trainer has finally earned his M&Ms! I’m sure there will still be accidents in the future, but at last we can see the light at the end of the tunnel!
Foam Rubber Statue of Liberty Costume: $30.00
BabyBjorn Infant Carrier: $59.00
Not Having To Touch Poop Anymore: Priceless
Notes on a Napkin 