The Simple Things That Bring Smiles

Over the years I've been creating a mental list of things that I encounter from time to time that never fail to make me smile. Hopefully you have a list of your own because it truly is a great thing to encounter unexpected reasons for smiling. Here are some of my favorites:

- People who sing while driving or walking. Some of the best ones are the people who walk the same route every day by themselves because they become so comfortable in their routine that they don't doubt their confidence when complete strangers pass by and see them belting out a tune. This is especially precious when they get the facial expressions and hand gestures going!

- While we're on the topic of singing, I find it hilarious that little girls commonly sing while they use the washroom. When I've been at elementary schools and couldn't use the staff washroom, almost every time I heard someone contenting singing while doing their business. I suspect that they get so wrapped up in their singing that they check out into their own other world and forget that their teacher is back in the classroom, potentially wondering what they are doing! The best part is that they're typically spontaneous and made up songs.

- One more thing related to singing is the joy I get when a group of kids sing and you have that one kid that  feels compelled to sing at the top of their lungs. The best example of this was when I was teaching Vacation Bible School one summer. There was a five year old girl who I absolutely adored because she had so much spunk, sass and self-confidence that allowed her to express herself without holding back. When it came time for singing, she would often refuse to participate because she wasn't interested in it, or perhaps it bored her. However, one evening we had a concert for the parents and at this particular moment, the young girl wanted to show off her skills by singing out louder than any other kid in the group. I admit this act may come across as more rude than humorous but I had to laugh because she would sing out the words she knew but would fill in the blanks with a quieter "hmm, hmm, na na na, dum dum". Because she wouldn't participate when we were learning the songs, her songs consisted of about 96% hums other than the few key words that she would sing out loudly and lengthily, such as "nah, nah, hmmmmm, da.......Jeeeeeeeeeesus"

- For some strange reason, the sight of birds running always makes me smile. At first glance I don't think anything of it but once I actually stop and think about what they look like, I find it so ridiculous that those little legs run so fast and awkwardly! You can certainly tell these creatures were not created for land transportation. They may move fast but every step is miraculous in the sense that those knobby, scrawny and pronged appendages could hold up their bodies and succeed in moving them forward!

Photo from our trip to the Bahamas

- Squirrels are also wonderfully common creatures that just make me smile when I stop and observe them for a moment. They're so twitchy and sporadic that it makes me wonder what on earth is going on inside their head. For anyone who's seen Over The Hedge, I think they got it right with the portrayal of Hammy; he's constantly full of energy, perky and jumping from idea to idea. I also find it hilarious to create a commentary on what is possibly going through a squirrel's peanut sized brain!

- Although some might find this offensive, it makes me smile when a little kid asks me if I'm pregnant. In most cases I figure they ask this because they're either just learning about how babies are born or they are  about to become an older sibling. I find this funny particularly because of the ideas from which this inquiry arises:
Kid: "Are you an adult/ are you married?"
Me: "Yes"
Kid: "Are you going to have a baby?"
Me: "No, just because I'm an adult/married doesn't mean I'm going to have a baby right now"
The best instance of this was when a young girl casually asked if there was a baby in my tummy simply because we were eating lunch together. I told her that there was no baby inside me. She then proceeded to ask me repeatedly if I was sure. When I assured her over and over again, she responded with "well, you know, there could be!" and that was the end of the conversation.

- Engrish! This is a term used to describe all the times words have been humorously lost in translation. I love Engrish because, of course it's hilarious, but it also makes me mindful of how others pronounce and understand words, as well as the influence of colloquialisms and idioms. There are tonnes of inappropriate Engrish examples just because the direct translation implies something very different in English. I'm not at all laughing at the Engrish authors or advertisers because I believe a large majority of the time, they're completely obviously to their mistakes! It's very similar to when English speakers get a Chinese or Japanese character tattoo because they think it looks cool and means something awesome like  "hope" or "peace"....in actuality some of these are just random words that happen to look nice.

Well that's just a few of the things that seem to catch me off guard every once in a while but certainly evoke a smile! I hope you are also able to find an unexpected reason to smile today :)

-S