Happy Is As Happy Does
I learned early to defuse scary situations with a big, wide smile like my mom's and her father's. From my earliest memory, those smiles were reflected back at me whenever I creeped, crawled, or toddled into their view. Doting adults often smiled in my presence in those formative years. The World War Two years were trying times, but my relatives smiled and plugged along despite any worries or struggles.
Everything I learned about triumphing over adversity came from observing the adults who loved me. A smile was their umbrella too. Smiles, hugs, and a loving spirit can overcome the worst of trials.
My goal here is to give you a smile and a warm, figurative hug.
THIS LENS HAS BEEN BLESSED BY SQUID ANGELS
THANK YOU, ANGELS!!
HAPPINESS IS A STATE OF MIND & HEART
Happiness cannot be bought or handed out like candy.
It's a little spark of joy that lives inside us.
Happy people learn how to feed that spark, to spread the warmth through smiles, affection, and compassion.
-------Anonymous
STARS IN THEIR FRONT WINDOW
Grandma & Grandpa's stars were smiling.
During World War Two, my grandparents had two sons-in-law fighting overseas and a son stationed stateside in preparation for assignment. Dad was in the Philippines and Uncle Kenny in Europe. Uncle Don was a college student in the ROTC. Although I was very young, I sensed the nervous fear that came with every new battle reported on the radio or in the newspaper.The family pooled their resources in many ways back then. Grandma and Grandpa maintained a huge Victory Garden and shared that bounty with their family and others. Mom and Aunt Maxine were young wives with husbands in the war. They shared a home and raised chickens for eggs and meat. Everyone pooled their ration tickets. And everyone focused on nurturing me, the only child, grandchild, and niece in the family during the war years.
Grandpa always called me "Sorrel Top." I didn't know exactly what that meant, but he grinned so big while saying it I figured it was something good. One day he said, "Our stars are happy stars, Sorrel Top. Let's draw a smiling face on them for when our boys come home." He took a pencil from his pocket and, together, we drew smiling faces on the stars in their front window.
The men in our family all came home from war safely and saw their smiling stars first thing.
WHEN LIFE HANDED HER LEMONS......
MOM MADE LEMONADE....OR COOKIES
Dad came home from war a different man than the one Mom married. They'd been childhood sweethearts who dated all through High School and married soon after graduation. Gone was her laughing sweetheart and friend. A man with dark corners and black moods returned from the Pacific. Alcohol fueled his dark spirit. In public he was the "prince of a fellow" and decorated war hero. Inside the four walls of our home, he released monsters.
I can't imagine Mom's heartbreak as she watched the man she loved deteriorate. She hid her physical and mental wounds and made sure life went on acceptably for their four children. Her happy spirit focused on teaching Sunday School, and baking beautiful decorated cookies for the PTA. And her smile lit up our world. When Mom smiled, we four kids believed we were OK, no matter what else might be going on around us.
When life got so bad with Dad that she worried for the safety of her children, she divorced him. I'm sure the failure of their marriage broke her heart but it didn't wreck her happy spirit. The picture here is one of my favorites of Mother, taken after the divorce at a family gathering. Her smile, her hope and grace, were always Mom's umbrella.
Mom's decorated cookies were a work of art and a labor of love.
Especially her hand decorated Christmas cookies. Even little children hesitated to eat them because each cookie had its own happy personality.
Jolly Santas. Beaming reindeer. Colorful Christmas Trees. Gentle angels. Stockings stuffed with presents.
She made buttercream frosting mixed with different food colorings just so, then added sprinkles or coconut to enhance the final product.
A tray of Mom's cookies made everyone smile.
GRANDMA AND GRANDPA
THE KING AND QUEEN OF HAPPY SMILES
Raising a family during World War One and the Great Depression had to be a struggle. Grandma and Grandpa were always poor. They lived in rent houses, and even spent one Minnesota winter in a tent while Grandpa labored with a road crew. They married in 1916, had their first child a year later, and could not afford to own a home until 1945. Many of my happiest memories as a child and an adult were spent in that house. Grandma kept her home clean and comfortable. A "Bless This House" musical chime welcomed everyone who entered their front door.Small pleasures fed their happiness. Sitting in the front porch swing together after supper, sharing a nickel ice cream cone between them, or planning for family vacations they couldn't afford were all joys that cost little but provided much happiness. They taught me to appreciate small pleasures and happy moments.
Don't get me wrong. Life was not a bowl of cherries for Herb and Esther, my grandparents. Most of their life was a constant struggle to feed their kids and survive financially. Somehow, their humor and grit prevailed.
The picture shows what lived in Grandma and Grandpa's hearts.
GRANDMA's PHILOSOPHY
Grandma always said, "Griping is good for the gallbladder but smiling is good for the heart."
Maybe that's why Grandma and Grandpa lived into their 90s and had strong hearts.
A SMILE IS STILL MY UMBRELLA
TRITE, MAYBE, BUT TRUE
I became the person I am because of Mom, Grandma and Grandpa, aunts and uncles who smiled and prevailed despite decades of adversity.
I learned from them how people should treat others.
My life has been easy compared to theirs, and I'm so grateful for every kindness and blessing.
A happy smile, a helping hand, and a loving heart -- if genuine -- can dilute the bad medicine life dishes out.
A SPECIAL NOTE
THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO VISITS MY LENSES AND TAKES THE TIME IN ANY WAY TO OFFER ENCOURAGEMENT.
BLESS YOU!!
Reader Feedback
Your comments are a bright spot in my day!!
- Reply
-
Reply
- WindyWinters WindyWinters Sep 28, 2009 @ 2:58 pm
- Wonderful! Thanks for sharing your Smile! :)
-
Reply
- Pami Pami Sep 28, 2009 @ 11:59 am
- Even though I am a good cook and can make delish cookies I have never been able to make beautiful Christmas cookies like Mom use to make.That is just one talent of Mom's I just can't seem to create.Perhaps this Christmas I will try again.Nice pages Lolly.
-
Reply
- thewishpearl thewishpearl Aug 5, 2009 @ 9:28 am
- Very inspring lens, glad we are on the same team! You have a very positive outlook on life thanks to a wonderful family!
- Reply
- Reply
- Reply
-
Reply
- stargazer00 stargazer00 Jul 18, 2009 @ 1:09 am
- What a wonderful legacy from your family! Loved reading this.
-
Reply
- sittonbull sittonbull Jul 16, 2009 @ 6:56 pm
- Hi LollyJ. I knew from seeing that great smile beaming from your Avatar that it would take you a long way! Great lens about the kind of attitude all of us should strive for!
-
Reply
- CCGAL CCGAL Jul 15, 2009 @ 10:36 am
- You know, we as a nation have forgotten what hardship is, especially boomers like me and those who came after me ... we've had it so easy compared to our parents and grandparents. I think of this often these days, and this lens really validates what I've been thinking.
5 stars for a thoughtful and heartwarming tribute to those who came before and struggled to help us have a better life.
- Reply
- Reply
- Reply
- Reply
- Reply
- Reply
-
Reply
- mysticmama mysticmama Apr 6, 2009 @ 12:08 pm
- Wondeful lens Welcome to the Sharing Hearts Group!
- Reply
-
Reply
- MITTS MITTS Feb 14, 2009 @ 3:54 pm
- YUM-O!!I CAN ALMOST TASTE HER COOKIES TO THIS VERY DAY...NO ONE HAS EVER COME CLOSE TO HERS SINCE THAT TIME SO LONG AGO....I AM SURE SHE HAS READ THIS FROM HER SPECIAL SPOT IN HEAVEN AND GRINNING..QUITE THE SAME WAY WE ALL STILL DO..HUGZ TO U BIG SIS AND TU FOR MAKING MY DAY..
- Reply
- Load More
by lollyj
I've been a Registered Nurse, a Medical Transcriptionist, a legal secretary, a church secretary, a book reviewer, and a writer. Through all my tra... (more)
Explore related pages
Beck's Love Lessons- Beck's Love Lessons began as an experimental lens, an exercise in creativity. M...
Economy lessons from Esther and Herb- We raised five children during the tough economic time of the 1920s and 1930s wh...
Dissociative Disorder & Me- Large chunks of time were lost to me. In church or work related meetings, I wond...
