© irene waters 2015
Three things Thursday created by Nerd In the Brain says:”three things that make me smile: an exercise in gratitude – feel free to steal this idea with wild abandon and fill your blog with the happy”. Like laughter (take just 1 minute right now to laugh as laughter that you put on is just as health giving as that which comes spontaneously) being happy has benefits ranging from enhanced creativity (necessary for a writer and indeed for most of us) to improving our immune system. Three broad categories happiness effects:
People are more physically active, learn better and have a bigger social circle
It counteracts all those negative emotions
And protects our health.
So I am happy to share with you each week three things which make me smile. The first you thought would have been the puppy Muffin, but this time it is Bundy. He always makes me smile. For awhile I worried that his happiness had been affected by Muffin’s addition but yesterday they played together on the oval and it brought a huge smile to my face. Our family is going to be a happy one.
© irene waters 2015
We also bought this during the week. In our neighbours front garden it looked tiny. It has a set of rolling wells on the aft section and I could see us rolling it across the road to the river. Roger could see us putting it in Mum’s car. Getting it home it is bigger (much bigger) than we thought. I still plan on pulling it across the road. I just probably won’t do it as often as I thought I would. Even with wheels 48 kgs is a fair weight which surprised me but still it brought a smile as I anticipated photo taking expeditions gliding on the lake. Another perspective and I can’t wait to try it. May even try a bit of fishing but our problem is neither of us will kill the fish and it ends up wiping our smile off our face. Not the aim of the exercise.
© irene waters 2015
Our toastmasters meeting on Monday night also bought a smile to not only my face but to those of the other participants. I joined two and a half years ago when we had about eight members. Now our numbers top twenty-four. The benefits we all gain from the experience is immense and the support is good. For me to it is great to hear all different perspectives as our youngest member is fourteen up to a couple of members around my age with a huge range in between.
Join in. It would be great to see what made you smile this week.
Reflections and Nightmares- Irene A Waters (writer and memoirist) 
Wonderful entries, and none of them about money, but about experiences.
For me: Time with my older son and his family, just eating burritos and having fun being together.
Sharing an afternoon with two close friends, catching up with news, and showing them the giclee print I’d made of an art piece I’d painted for my younger grandson.
Seeing the new photos of our younger son’s family, especially of their new daughter, only 5 weeks old. We haven’t met her yet so the photos are our connection.
I’m lousy with photos, so you’ll have to imagine all the smiles.
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Thank you so much for sharing what made you happy this week Sharon. I can definitely imagine the smiles. How many grandchildren do you have? When will you meet your Grandson?
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We’ve met the younger grandson several times though we haven’t visited in months. We haven’t met the baby girl, 5 weeks, and hope to spend time with them this month or next. We “visit” via Facebook, but it isn’t quite the same.
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Although FB is better than it would have been forty years ago where you would have been waiting for a letter and photograph that would have been out of date before you saw it. Face to face will be great.
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Thanks for sharing your smiles, Irene. I’m pleased Bundy has accepted Muffin and that your family is going to be happy. Enjoy fishing, but maybe not catching any fish? Toastmaster does sound like a fun way of meeting people and having great discussions. I must keep it in mind. I think there might be a View Club that is similar.
My grandchildren made me smile when they were splashing in the pool on Saturday.
Meeting up with a friend who has just returned from 11 weeks overseas made me smile.
Reading your post made me smile. Thanks. 🙂
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Thank you Norah for sharing your smiles . View Club is probably more like Rotary where they raise money for charities and have lunch meetings and guest speakers. Toastmasters is all about speaking and leadership skills. I joined to improve my speaking in order to sell my book more effectively. It turned out to be a lot more than that and I really enjoy it. I especially love hearing about other peoples interests, a bit like listening to a blog. It is also wonderful seeing people come who can’t bring themselves to speak at all and see them blossoming under the encouragement and support of the group.
Grandchildren must bring a lot of smiles. I certainly get a lot of smiles with my nephews. Nice that summer is coming and they can splash in the pool.
I’m so glad that this post made you smile. That has brought a smile to me also. Thanks. 🙂
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So glad your Toastmasters group is growing!
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It is such a vibrant group it is a pleasure to belong to it.
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You and your posts make me smile and sometimes out loud Irene. I’m so happy to hear Bundy and Muffin are playing together now and how fun to have a little boat! i love being on the water. You’re in for a happy summer with plenty of laughter I’m sure. And your Toastmaster’s group is thriving. Wonderful 🙂
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Yes all up there’s lots to smile at.
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That’s ‘laugh out loud’ that I meant… sorry! 😀
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I don’t mind if you smile out loud. 🙂
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😀
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