Happiness is also found in spending time with my family, whether individually or altogether. Each one of them brings such joy and happiness to my life every day.
As adults, we are aware of those things that bring us happiness as well as things, situations, or people who make us sad, scared, nervous, and anxious. We are able to steer clear of the negatives and move towards the positives.
At what age did we become aware of emotions and understand what they meant? I don't remember when I was first happy or sad, or upset, or any other emotion, but I know I have experienced all of them. I also don't remember the first time my sons were really happy, sad, or upset as young children, but I know they have been.
Babies show all types of emotions to let us know how they feel or what they need because they haven't learned how to communicate verbally. They smile, laugh, coo, fuss, and cry. They know what they feel so they express that the only way their know how. But when do they REALLY know what any of these emotions are.
My granddaughter, Paisley, who is almost 2, is getting to the age of being able to express her feelings and emotions in words and not just in actions. She tells me "wuv oo, Mamaw", "tank oo, Mamaw", she gets angry when she doesn't get her way, and she cries when she gets her feelings hurt.
I got to spend the day with her just yesterday. It was a rainy, stormy day so we weren't able to go out and play as I had planned. We spent most of the morning playing with her toys in the house, "riding" her tricycle around the house, playing puzzles, and coloring.
After lunch and after her nap she really wanted to go out. Knowing we couldn't go play in the yard or go for a walk, I decided we would go into the garage and just open the garage door. We would go outside but not fully outside. I put her jacket on her, for some reason she wanted her mittens too, she picked up her Elmo, and out we went.
She was content to sit on the concrete floor for a while just watching the rain sprinkling down, but eventually started venturing out of the garage. It did stop raining eventually and we ventured over to the rocks that are in the front of the house where she loves to play and count. Unfortunately it started to sprinkle again so we had to go back to the garage for a while.
As we were in the garage, I was sitting on the floor and she was standing beside me, she suddenly wrapped her arms around herself as if to hug herself, she looked at me, and in the sweetest voice she said, "Happy, Mamaw!". I don't know if she was happy to be outside, happy to be with me, or both. I like to think that it was both but even if she was only indicating her happiness with being outside, I thought that was the sweetest reaction. She isn't yet 2, but she knows what happiness is and what it feels like.
I think we can learn so much from children. How to be "happy" with the simple things. How to be content with just sitting in the garage watching the rain even though we can't play outside. Being content with just being with someone we love.
I didn't respond to her when she said that to me, but my response now is to remember her contentment, wrap my arms around her (and all my other loved ones), and say "Happy, Paisley!"
