What are some simple things that happen that give you a good feeling for just a few moments? Something that makes you say, “nice”.
My alarm is set for 5:30 am. I generally wake up at least once for a potty break. And one of the worst things is waking up and seeing that it’s 4 or 4:30. But THE BEST is waking up thinking that it’s probably 4:00 but when I look st the clock it’s only midnight! What a feeling - the night has only just begun and I have over 5 more hours to sleep…NICE.
You nailed it for me. I too have my alarm set for 5:30 and hate waking up after 4 AM. But waking up and seeing it’s not even 1 AM is a lovely feeling.
I also love to see that a phone conference has been scheduled at 3 PM. That means I’ll leave work at 2:50 instead of 3:30, and take the conference in my car driving home. Woo hoo, worked the whole day, but got home early.
I usually get up a little before my wife does. I go downstairs, get out the cereal and bowls, mix up my daughter’s medicine, pack my son’s lunch, and come back upstairs. On mornings when the kids are still asleep and my wife is still in the shower, I crawl back in bed for a few minutes, and it’s the best part of the day.
I don’t make coffee at home during the week. I help get the kids ready, get everyone out the door, then rush to get to work on time. I get my first cup of coffee after I’ve settled in at the office. That first jolt of plain black coffee, so hot I can barely drink it. Ahhhhhhh.
I wake up every morning and know for certain that I don’t have to go to work. Sweet.
Getting the green light on the freeway exit ramp in my town. I’ve been driving for 22 years and have only landed there on green maybe a half dozen times if that. All memorable moments.
I dunno. When I wake up in the middle of the night after spending a few hours in deep sleep, and cannot go back to sleep, I end-up staring up into the dark, thinking. Which is not a good place for me (I am my own harshest critic).
When riding my bike or commuting, and I am able to get thru a stop light on the green when it is usually red - NICE!
The smell of fresh ground coffee before being brewed - NICE!
A Saturday afternoon nap - NICE!
Yes! I love to be home, knowing nothing much needs to be done, I can read, nap, play with the pets or watch crap on tv. Life of Riley.
One route to work I drove for ten years had six traffic lights and I hit all of them green exactly once. Fastest commute ever!
I am “allowed” only certain very neutral mental topics during those hours. Otherwise it will go right to hell, as my sanity is at a low ebb.
My nice thing is seeing that someone else has made some coffee. I usually have time to brew it or drink it but not both!
When cat walks on my back and starts giving me a back massage (kneading).
I have to train other employees about once a month, and even though it’s low-pressure I still get nervous the night before. The best is the next night, knowing I DON’T have to teach a class the next morning. 
And getting into bed Friday night, the one night I don’t have to set an alarm. AAAAH.
When my autistic son says “you look like you need a hug” and follows up with a hug. 
When one of my pets (dog or cat) snuggles up for a nap.
Pretty much this. I either wake up for a piss two hours after I fall asleep or a bare few minutes before my alarm goes off. (This tiny bit of mystery and anticipation only applies in the winter months at my latitude, alas)
I love watching Noir Kitty, the Big Crow’s cat, chase after the treats I throw. He does it with such abandon that it makes me smile every time. If he runs directly away from me, I can see his belly flab flapping from side to side, which is both funny and cute.
Nearly every day now, he’ll get into a mock fight with his tail, yowling and hissing at it as he makes it twitch. Then he grabs it and pretends to bite it. I wish I knew what is going through his mind as he does this but I can’t help thinking he must have a rich imagination.
Noir Kitty spent the first years of his life on the mean streets of our city. Though he was rescued and has been strictly an indoor cat for seven or eight years, he’s remained extremely traumatized and distrustful of humans. Since I’ve been giving him treats, he’s really come out of his shell. He still won’t let me or the Big Crow touch him but he’ll almost get underfoot sometimes. A far cry from the first five months I lived here, when he was afraid to even stay on the same *floor *as me, much less the same room.
Every time he asks for treats and runs after them, I feel a glow, knowing he’s a happier cat than he used to be. And he seems healthier, too.
HC the Kitty take over has started. Beware, the power really goes to their head.
You are doomed!
( not really, good on you guys for rescueing Noir!!)
Seeing happy babies and children at restaurants. My kids call me a creeper sometimes, but I just love kids. Huh.
May I please ask how you “enforce” this rule? I’ve tried telling those negative thoughts to fuck off & they laugh it right off and resume their horrible, negative chatter. “Don’t think about X” just makes me picture X if that makes any sense.
To apologize for the hijack, my contributions are:
spotting a bit of urban wildlife, like seeing a cardinal bringing his ladyfriend a snack, or catching a glimpse of an owl.
having to make an unprotected left turn from some little side street into a heavily trafficked multi-lane thoroughfare … and getting a lull in drivers on both sides at once. A leisurely turn in complete peace, instead of squeezing yourself diagonally within the narrow curb cut and hoping to god you don’t get hit by everyone whizzing by in either direction.
am I gonna be the 1st to mention finding money in your pocket when you’re doing laundry?
a variant on ^^ is finding a forgotten stash of something you thought you’d run out of having, like a half-bag of your favorite candy hiding behind something else in the pantry or one last ice cream bar roaming the freezer when you have a craving but the store’s closed.
Not for me. Just the opposite.
Waking up finding only its midnight and I have to wait five more hours of sleep to get my morning going…at 5 am I have the house to myself for almost 4 hours maybe more before the semi retired husband gets out of bed.
My ahhh moment, the 4 hours early morning. :D:D
He is semi retired as in off in the winters…:mad::mad:
This morning I was approaching the library door with the phone on my ear and my big coffee cup in my one good hand. As I went to open the door with my bad hand, a young boy (maybe 10 years old) came from behind me and held the door for me.
Every time I see a child perform a kindness, I feel better about the future.
Right now I hear an ice cream truck playing Turkey in the Straw* somewhere in our neighborhood.
In February.
I wonder if they have Fudgsicles?