Giving it to others!

Happiness is...

Knowing that you've touched someone's life.

I used to work a summer job with about thirty 5yr olds. We got to play games, go outside, spend time in the pool and at the library and on field trips... It was an awesome gig.

Last July I saw one of the parents at B&N, and little did I know he remembered me and was thinking of me---the kids actually missed me! It was a fun conversation in the middle of the foreign language section, and it warmed my heart for a few hours.

If that wasn't enough, he stopped me at the community center today... "I meant to tell you at the bookstore... you always told me he was a natural on skates, and I honestly wouldn't have noticed it myself. You have no idea how big that was." He really wouldn't have known (especially given the meek nature of this particular boy), and a 5yr old couldn't begin to express the joy he had felt in that little time we spent on the ice for a diversion that short summer.

Turns out he is now at hockey practice 3 times a week. They told me it wouldn't have happened without my insight. No, I'm not the end all be all. But I do have reassurance that my hand was there, and the fingerprint I left is astounding even to me. I walked away from this minute exchange with a huge smile on my face, one that will carry me through tomorrow.

Happiness is helping other people find happiness. Truly, that's where I get it all.