Happiness - Bibsey Mama

H is for Happiness.

And so I am embarking of week two of the April 2012 Blogging from A-Z challenge with the word happiness as my prompt. I have taken my inspiration from the Happiness project over at Kate Takes 5. She asked the question: what makes your children happy? to which it seems that the answer is simple pleasures. And then she ran a Listography on the top 5 things that make you happy. I didn’t have the time post my list then. It seems this month, I am making the time.

How often do we really ask ourselves: am I happy? And how often do we stop to check: am I actively unhappy? Is happiness everything that sits outside unhappiness? Hmm, that seems rather unsatisfactory.

I am not bursting with joy all the time, but I think that generally I am happy. I’m lucky. And I suspect that unhappiness, outside the realms of heartbreak and tragedy, doesn’t so much strike me, as creep up on me. It may sit with me for a while before I recognise it.

Perhaps it’s the same with happiness. That happiness is easy contentment and heart bursting joy and everything in between, but we don’t go round chirping in our heads “I’m happy, so happy”. But occasionally it just creeps up on us.

Since we moved to Spain you could say that we are living a simpler life. Since having a baby you could say that my perceptions have shifted and my definition of happiness, or rather the things that make me happy, along with it.

These days happiness to me is:

The softness of Bibsey’s neck and the smell of her hair

Fresh air and sunshine and walks

Feasting my eyes on mountain, sea and sky

Cuddles and snuggles and rough and tumble – Me, B and Mr B

The sound of Bibsey’s laughter when she’s having fun

Chocolate and puddings on the sofa with Mr B and crap TV

A good cup of coffee

Cava and conversation with friends and family

Having dinner cooked by someone else

Any moments spent in bed sleeping, dozing, reading, gorging on box sets.

But most of all, above all else what makes me happy is…