For all of us, whether your circumstances are like mine or quite different, there are times where we find we can’t internally celebrate- even if there’s a special occasion or two floating by. I spent my birthday doing a full day of therapy, multi-tasking as many things as possible. For example, unless Jenny or Tony needs my help during speech teletherapy, I’m off camera with a kettlebell working out. But for me, if I can find even one thing to smile about, sometimes that can help me remember what it is to still celebrate the gift of life. Here are some things I have found to smile about lately.

Smiling in finding ways to beat the heat…or at the very least, make it so we can do the things we need to. An umbrella helps me handle walks in higher temperatures with my POTS, and Tony loves getting wet before we go walking in the summer, and it helps keep him cooler.

Adding a little sparkle to my day always, always makes me smile. The photo does not do this eye shadow justice.

Smiling about being told by Pastor Susan that Tony is never a disruption. Pictures from Tony’s return to the First Church UCC campus.

Smiling about some new found impulse control and the ability to keep walking through those sprinklers and take that frozen yogurt up to the counter without trying to eat it until after we pay.

Smiles for trying new things…Tony’s never wanted to try climbing on this before.

And big smiles for a great setting spray that enables me to obsess over my makeup application only once and still walk twice a day in the summer without looking like fully melted wax. 712pm this past Monday, above 90 degrees outside and we’d been walking for 40 minutes already when I took this picture.