Mostly nature.

• I was driving through Arlington, Massachusetts on my way home and saw two men up ahead, both seeming very animated. As I approached, I noticed that their mouths weren’t moving. Their animation was sign language and I was reminded that language is an amazingly beautiful thing, whether spoken or illustrated with one’s body.
• My husband and I were on a motorcycle trip to the Berkshires. We got up the morning we were returning home and headed to brunch. On our way, in a small patch of grass along the side of the road, I saw a deer having her breakfast. It was then that I realized how hard it is to smile inside a motorcycle helmet.
• We live in an apartment complex near the Charles River so we have an odd mix of wildlife and city at our disposal. There’s a well mannered rabbit that doesn’t seem to be afraid of me that likes to hang out by out back steps.
  

  Bunny!

The mostly dogs edition.

• I had left some supplies for work at home and was doubling back to get them when I got behind an SUV. This SUV had the back window open and a large bulldog was calmly staring out as they meandered down the street. That was all I needed to not feel like a goof for forgetting things in the first place.
• At lunch, I sat by the open window of the restaurant and gazed out. As I was staring blankly at nothing, a gentleman appeared and he was walking 5 dogs. This wasn’t a normal dog walker, though. He was wearing a backpack like harness that the dogs were connected to. He had hands free and the dogs were very nicely behaved behind him. I didn’t know things like that existed but clearly they do!
• Some camp sites only cost $6 per night and that is terrific.
• Also, this:

PUPPIES!

• I saw an older gentleman, maybe early 60s, with salt and pepper hair and a green baseball cap riding down the sidewalk of Mass Ave in Cambridge at a leisurely pace. Upon further inspection, he was holding and enjoying an ice cream cone.
• A couple glasses of Cremant* at a bar, bonding with a new friend.
• “The Baltimore Orioles do better than weddings.”
• It started raining so I opened the shades in my office and stared out. I find rain to be an extremely relaxing break from the day for a few minutes.
• This:

I know there’s a few of you reading. What have little things have made you smile?

* Cremant is French sparkling wine that is not from Champagne. You can read more here.

I’m either a sap and tons of little things brighten my day on a regular basis or keeping record of these things is helping me to pay attention to things I may not have noticed before. I’m thinking it’s the latter.

• I saw a man and a woman crossing the street, each with a dog on a leash. The woman was pulling the German shepard. The man was being pulled by the golden retriever.
• As a man rounded the street corner to his love’s apartment, he proudly donned a smile as he carried a bouquet of flowers. He walked up the steps to an apartment (I’m assuming it’s his significant other) and placed the flowers at the door.
• My optimistic tea.:

I’d also love to hear your version Life’s Details. What little things made you smile today?

The series of posts in the “Life’s Details” section are little observations–snippets of my daily life–that somehow enhanced my experience that day.

There are hundreds of things going on around us on a daily basis and much of the time, I don’t stop to notice them. When I do, though, I find that there are plenty of those little details to observe that make me smile for one reason or another.

Since positivity breeds more positivity, this is my attempt to put a positive spin on the world one small bit at a time.

Here is the first realization of that:

• I drove by a woman with jet black hair sitting on a park bench. As she was reading her book in the pleasant sunshine, I noticed a large tattoo of Abraham Lincoln’s face on her arm.
• Not only did I see a young Bruce Springsteen looking fellow, I also saw a Joffrey Baratheon lookalike (of Game of Thrones fame).
• The Joy Formidable made its way into my iTunes library. I’m wondering why it took this long but happy that the day has come.
• And finally, these socks: