What makes you happy? Doris Varnell, a 57-year old woman with adult children, watches Sesame Street until she begins to giggle. USA Today reports Varnell, who has multiple sclerosis and uses a wheelchair, looks for ways to be happy instead of dwelling on reasons that should make her sad. Varnell even goes so far as to say her life, "Is better now than before I had MS." Her optimism and joy make me feel guilty. An emotion that goes well with my recent moods of crabby and ornery. I vowed to catch an episode of Sesame Street.
     According to USA Today, Varnell was instrumental in providing more positive questions to the University of Texas and the National Institute on Nursing for the long-term study they conduct of MS patients. Varnell suggested they stop asking participants about negatives like, "How often do you feel sad?" and instead, ask if they had they enjoyed a picnic or taken a nap. Taking Varnell's advice, researchers have replaced negative queries about subjects' loss of eyesight and feelings of being unattractive with positive considerations for them to check off such as, "I phoned a friend," and "I crossed off something on my to-do list because I finished it."
     With Varnell's chipper attitude in mind, I decided to make a list of the things that had recently made me smile. Meeting friends for lunch last Friday went at the top. So did a benefit my husband attended two days later. I hadn't been smiling earlier that day when the weather forecast mentioned temperatures suited for heavy jackets, but my frown turned upside down in the afternoon at the fundraiser that benefits people with Down Syndrome. We bid on items during the silent auction, connected with friends and bought ooey-gooey bars and chocolate chip cookies from the bake sale table. (I grin like a Cheshire cat when chocolate is involved, don't you?)
     My list would have to include dinner later that day, too. My husband and I shared a good meal and even better conversation with two of his former co-workers. For a couple of hours, we forgot how much he misses them since his recent job change. We headed home talking about how lucky he is to have worked with them for so many years. He told me about the nice people he has encountered in his new position, another thing that had me beaming.
     In an effort to add more cheery moments to my list, I used Google to find a happiness Web site. Feelinghappy.com boasts it is a site that "enables the public to exchange happy stories, tips, suggestions, information, and links to other sites that have kept people feeling happy." I saved it as a favorite, then checked TVguide.com for the time of day Sesame Street airs in my neighborhood.
     I am going to take Doris Varnell's lead and search for things that can chase away the doldrums and make me giggle like a little kid. If you're looking for the woman formerly known as Gloomy Andrea, I'll be parked in front of the computer at Feelinghappy.com. Or watching TV and chortling with Bert and Ernie. If you don't find me there, I'll be chuckling in restaurants with friends. Or searching for bake sales. With a silly grin on my face. Tee-hee.