You Make Me Happy

This is a card my father gave me when I was about 13 or 14 years old. I keep it in a memory box that's not too big and over the last 40 years or so I have thrown certain things away. It was always hard to decide what to toss, but I knew I couldn't keep everything. I have so many nieces and nephews that have drawn pictures or even just their first cards to me where they wrote "Aunt Tricia" for the first time, those I could never throw away. This blog has been a new memory box for me. A much bigger box.

I don't have to throw things away anymore, I don't have to make those tough decisions I made over the years. Even if a memory is not put in my actual memory box or here on my blog, I have scanned pictures drawn for me. Pictures that for years were piled one on top of the other on my refrigerator door that my nieces and nephews have drawn. Bella draws a picture pretty much every time I see her and now I don't have to throw it away.

I saved this card for 40 years. It was never one of the items I would toss. I also know I saved it because my father wrote "and my life happy". He wrote "I love you" too, but the "and my life happy" spoke volumes to me even as a young teen. He was always telling me he loved me!

It's weird too, but probably one of the last conversations I had with mom, she said "you make me happy". It was Christmastime and I made her a mixed music cassette of Broadway tunes, which she loved, as do I. At that time in her life she was very sick and there were few things that she could enjoy. I remember when I played it for her, she just looked at me and said "you make me happy". Not, "I love you" but "you make me happy". She too said "I love you" a gazillion times, but "you make me happy", that was very meaningful to me. I was overflowing happy!

I'm blessed with so many people I love and even more, I am blessed with so many people who make me happy. And not to sound like I have a fat head but I know I make lots of people happy too. There's a song that Jimmy Durante sang, Make Someone Happy which I've shared below. A line of the lyrics says "make someone happy and you will be happy too". It's true. It's like that book and movie The Secret. Whatever we put out there, we get back.

If you are reading my blog today, you make me happy and I hope I make you happy too. And of course more than that, I hope you are surrounded with people who make you happy.

Happy Valentine's Day.