What makes you happy?

[Cosmo]

Concerts. Live music just awakens joy in me like nothing else. So many of my friends, I've met them through shows. Every Hold Steady residency feels like a family reunion.

Winning a silly happy hour college basketball over-under bet. It's not about the money, it's about being right and making those around me laugh as I stress over Yale and Albany missing a million shots when I took the over.

Sitting on the couch with my cats purring next to me.

Eating excellent Thai food.

Baseball. The everyday nature of it. The process. The thrill of a walk-off and the agony of a seven-game losing streak.

Taking aimless walks around the city while listening to podcasts.

Tom Wilson hammering the New York Islanders.

 

[Inky_Wretch]

That’s great about the conversations on drives. I wonder if some of it is because they can’t be on the phone?

I'm sure that's it. When she's in the backseat, she's usually texting friends. Can't do that when she's driving.

 

[dixiehack]

I'm sure that's it. When she's in the backseat, she's usually texting friends. Can't do that when she's driving.

When I get my daughter she usually spends 30-45 minutes in the car catching me up on her life and then disappears into the phone for a bit. She does come up for air often after that and we get more time together. I figure she is charging her introvert battery so I don’t press the issue.

She gets her permit next summer so I’m interested to see if there is an uptick in car conversation.

 

[MisterCreosote]

My kids are more forthcoming with me in the car than they are anywhere else. It’s weird. Especially since they both started sitting in the front seat.

I forgot to mention: Cooking. I’ve gotten really good at it in the last few years, and I love just pulling something delicious together out of thin air and watching my family devour it.

 

[Slacker]

Watching 4-year-olds the day they discover the words "poop" and "fart."

 

[Baron Scicluna]

Reading stories to my developmentally-delayed son. My wife gets him ready in the mornings while I get him ready for bed at night. He’s able to shower and dress himself, which is a much bigger improvement from a few years ago, and will even do it on his own sometimes without prompting. Then once he’s all ready, I read a chapter of different kids’ books each night.

Sitting in my recliner on a cold Saturday or Sunday afternoon with rain or a small snow storm, eating cheese and crackers, watching football and dozing off.

The first two days of March Madness.

Standing in the right field grass on a lovely summer night when the sun hasn’t quite set in my 40+ softball league, and just watching everyone else while hoping the ball isn’t hit to me.

Getting creative writing inspiration. I saw an old photograph one day of a sports setting from 100+ years ago, got inspired, and wrote a short story. I just entered it in a contest. I don’t expect to win, as the previous winning entries looked super great, but at least I kinda, sorta can call myself a writer.

Making my wife smile. Sometimes it’s easy to forget that’s an easy way to show love.

 

[SixToe]

Many things, to be honest, make me happy.

One of my favorites, though, is in the morning when I wake up after a really good night's sleep and lie there for a few moments. I don't do anything except be aware. I'm warm. I don't move, except maybe for wiggling my toes. I am 100 percent completely relaxed from head to toe, almost like I'm in a state of suspension.

It reminds me of the last five or so minutes of a good yoga session, typically an hour. We lie still in the silence, breathing calmly, before centering and ending the session. There is zero stress, like the occasional morning wake-up bliss.

If I could feel like that throughout most of my day it would be wonderful.

Also, snatching a 5-pound bass from the lake is pretty damned skippy.

 

[playthrough]

Great thread, great lists.

My kids. The college kid is kicking so much ass and the younger one is finally finding her way. It's all incredibly rewarding.

Walking 18 holes and playing well.

Traveling for work and catching a great nap on the plane.

The buddies trips.

Doing the laundry.

Selling crap on eBay.

When a new episode of a favorite pod drops and I've got time alone in the car.

Finding a book that I can't put down.

Dreaming of retirement somewhere other than where I am now.

 

[Neutral Corner]

I live across the street from the back gate of our elementary school and I feel exactly the same even though my kids are now in their 20’s.

I have an elementary school three doors down at the cross street. And yeah, happy kids at play is a nice soundtrack.

Babies make me happy, always have.

 

[dixiehack]

Babies make me happy, always have.

If I am out in public and a baby has its head turned towards me, I always do funny faces to make it smile or laugh. Closest thing in this world to a guarantee you are bringing another human joy.

 

[gingerbread]

Making my wife laugh.

Reading this makes me happy.

I love this thread.

 

[wicked]

We have a daycare probably 100 yards from us as the crow flies, on the other side of the tiny marsh. Late afternoon in the summer is when they get all wound up and silly. Not everything everyday needs to be super serious.

 

[WriteThinking]

There are a few things that genuinely make me happy:

I love being on the ocean, always have, whether in a kayak, a sailboat, a motorboat, or an ocean liner. It's my happy place, indeed almost a spiritual place, for me.

Another favorite: reading in bed before going to sleep, or, sometimes, even, reading in bed in lieu of going to sleep.

I like to write notes/letters to my loved ones about things that matter, and whenever special occasions arise. It's a way I try, and certainly, I hope, to make an impact, in some small but meaningful way, on those who matter most to me.

I forget where I read about this once, as it was long ago, and it might've even been just a little snippet in a Reader's Digest -- I have a vague recollection of that. But, anyway, it touted the power of taking the opportunity, and making the time and the effort, to actually write to someone, rather than just talking to or saying something to them. For some reason, the idea really resonated and stuck with me, and I have tried to live it out ever since. I'm a big believer in letting people know what you think of them, and especially, if/that they and/or what they've done, mattered to you, at a time when receiving that message might really matter or make a difference to them.

I also am happy to take a drive on a beautiful day, and use the time for peace and quiet, prayer, rest and reflection. It could be a short drive (to my church, which is in kind of a scenic location) or a lengthy trip (say, about 200 miles, or so) up to Central California to visit with family.

I'm a proponent of simple pleasures. One of the ones I enjoy the most is a McDonald's ice cream cone. My elderly mom loves them, too, and we enjoy our quality time together as we just pick them up at the drive-through, park in the lot, and sit in the car for about 20 minutes or so, just talking, and watching the people and the traffic go by while we indulge ourselves about once or twice a month.

 

[Here me roar]

Christmas lights. I know why. It's a story I've never shared. But any lights, any where lift me.

 

[John]

I h

Being in the car while my 16-year-old daughter is driving - just me and her. For some reason, that's the time she is most talkative and that's when she asks me about how I fell in love with her mom, what it was like growing up in the 1970s, how I chose a college, how I chose a career, why I changed careers, etc. And then I get to ask her about the big things in her life.

Doing the same with my wife. When we started dating, she had just moved to town and we'd drive around so she'd get the layout of the city and how to get from A to B (pre-smart phones and maps in your dash, obviously). Even now, she'll say "You wanna go for a drive? Maybe hit the Sonic happy hour?" and I'll drop everything to go. We talk about big stuff and little stuff. We listen to our favorite XM channels. We drive past dream houses that we've both been eyeballing for decades (and that STILL haven't come up for sale).

Being on our hunting property. The original 40 acres has been in our family since before statehood. We've (well, my forefathers) added another 230 acres over past 180-plus years. It is crisscrossed with stone walls (dry stacked, no mortar). It makes me feel connected to my previous generations.

Getting texts from my guys. I have a core group of best friends. The six of us either lived or worked together back in the late 1990s. We stayed in touch over the years, but during the pandemic we started a Friday night Zoom call. We still do it. More importantly, we started a group text that rarely goes two hours without somebody chiming in. On football Saturdays and Sundays, we may have 200 texts between us all.

Finally, this place. This damned old message board where I spend way too much time makes me happy. Y'all make me happy with your jokes, your sarcasm, your snark, your intelligence and your criticism. I'd hate to think how much less enjoyable the internet would be without SJ in it.

I had a similar thing teaching my niece to drive. Every Sunday for about three months we'd get together, she'd drive us to a coffee shop across town, and we'd just chat about different things. She's a sophomore in college now, but we still get together for coffee when she's home. Love it.

 

[BitterYoungMatador2]

The look of pure happiness and innocence on a dog's face when they make eye contact with you and start wagging their tail.

Same applies to babies but they smile or giggle, probably because they don't have tails to wag.

The beach. I'm 100 percent on board with whoever said being on the ocean. We are by no means rich but I need at least a window on a cruise ship when we vacation. When we did our honeymoon cruise I loved having the balcony to watch the water and the world go by.

Reconnecting with old friends. As silly as it probably was, I drove from Harrisburg to Pittsburgh for the Pitt-Miami game to go to the game with an old buddy I've known for 20 years, then drove back because I was flying to London the next day. The four hours of joking and sharing old memories was like therapy. I usually get together with old friends from high school back home during the holidays but, given how the calendar is working out this year, it is probably not happening this year and I'm kind bummed. I think it is important to maintain those connections and I encourage my wife to do the same. My argument is, "If you ever get hit by a bus, that's my support system."

Christmas. Every Christmas seems to take me nostalgic for Christmas when I was a kid, and I slowly evolve into Clark Griswold, reminiscing about how the holiday used to be and wishing you could recreate it one last time.

This right here. Both of my grandparents had pool tables growing up and I always preferred going to my mom's parent's house because the pool table was usually cleared of boxes and miscellaneous rubbish. My grandfather even built me a small bench so that I could go around the table with the top half of a two-piece cue as a 5-year-old. As a kid, if I was "loafing" on the couch, my grandfather always knew the sound of billiard balls being racked and broken open would catch my ears and send me down to the game room. To this day, I still love the sound the distinct crack of a cue ball makes smashing into the head ball. The pool table is my meditation session. I'll pop in my air pods, put on a mix from Pandora or the top 40 countdown from Sirius 80s on 8 and just zone out. That said, I can sit and watch two nobodies play for hours. Seeing how well they control the cue ball, make shots, plan out the rack.

 

[UNCGrad]

All of these responses are so great.

 

[Slacker]

The look of pure happiness and innocence on a dog's face
when they make eye contact with you and start wagging their tail.

Same applies to babies but they smile or giggle,
probably because they don't have tails to wag.

Best of both worlds: Clips like this show up on my FB feed,
and I'm a sucker for them. Tots and puppies, hard to beat that ...

 

[Slacker]

And a bonus laugh ...

 

[Songbird]

We are by no means rich but I need at least a window on a cruise ship when we vacation. When we did our honeymoon cruise I loved having the balcony to watch the water and the world go by.

Somewhere in the North Atlantic ca. July 2016.