I'm happy

A French friend once said I was always happy. Almost guilty as charged. 

Of course there are times of sadness, when I lose a friend, am disappointed by something but those are far from daily events. And even in those events there is some good. I am sad when I lose someone I care about, but I had the joy of that friendship. The mourning is the price for the good.

Each down has a counterpoint of an up, a lesson to be learned, a memory to be filed.

Right now, because I'm dealing with cancer, people expect me to be unhappy.

However, my nature is happy and people look at me strangely when I say how happy I am.

The answer is simple I have so much.

1. Top notch, friendly, affordable health care. Chemo is almost fun thanks to the hospital staff.
2. A wonderful single life up until I met my husband replaced by a wonderful married life.
3. I never thought that I would be happy in a relationship. I'm not just happy I'm ecstatic.
4. I live in two incredible places, Southern France and Collonge-Bellerive, Switzerland.
5. Both places I live have an incredible beauty.
6. If I never bought another thing, I have more than I need.
7. I have wonderful friends of many nationalities and interests.
8. I have a daughter that is a friend and whom I am so proud.
9. I have a second daughter of choice, who will be moving to Geneva with her family. 
10. There are books, books, books in my life.
11. No matter which country I am, in the restaurants and choice of food is almost unlimited.
12. There is room for silliness in my life.
13. I had a wonderful education in Reading, MA, Lowell, MA and Pontypridd, Wales.
14. Some fantastic teachers opened the world to me.
15. Most of my professional life was in jobs that were interesting and where if I didn't make the  world better, I didn't make it worse.
16. I have developed a new love of taking photos of bits and pieces of life that I discover.

The list could go on and and on and on...

Each day, whether on a walk or staying in there is something good. It could be a hot cup of tea as rain pounds the window creating its own music. Or it could be the spectacular fall colors that are now giving way to the delightful ting of cold weather on my cheek.

My greatest joy and happiness? I have been given a long life, full of rich experiences. The bad ones gave me strength and the ability to see the good.