GET EXCITED!

Yesterday evening Greg pulled into the driveway, and as soon as the dogs heard the garage door go up, they went nuts.  The dogs were barking and excitedly running around the house, and were ready to greet him with love and kisses the moment he walked through the door. This is certainly not a new phenomenon, and occurs every time someone arrives home.

The inspirations for this post, certainly excited about something!

In fact, the more I thought about it, these two pups get super excited for a lot of stuff. Actually, everything. For example (interpretation of dog response is in italics): What, a tiny dog treat that probably tastes like cardboard?! FREAK OUT YAY! The neighbor is walking down the sidewalk? OH MY GOODNESS! We get to go for a walk!? HOLY COW!! Someone is stopping by? SOOO EXCITING! 

And, typical for my (undiagnosed ADHD) brain, my train of thought went in a million different directions after this, briefly stopping at my experiences at work. As I've probably mentioned before, I work as a medical family therapist at a primary care clinic (mostly pediatrics). After the kids see the doctor, they get a sucker and a sticker at checkout. You would be amazed at how darn exciting getting a sugar-free sucker and the cartoon sticker of their choice is. It is so entertaining!

In fact, I think kids and pets have this excitement thing nailed down. There is an unrefined sense of joy and pleasure that we grown ups have lost somewhere along the way. Spend an afternoon with a kid (especially if they are between 2 and 5 years old) and everything is exciting.

I took this out of one of the children's therapy games I use at work...I thought it was a little racy for my pediatric population, but it incidentally works perfectly as a magnet on my fridge.

So, being the true social scientist I am, I started brainstorming what little things I get kid-and-dog-caliber-excited about:

1. Although I try to make healthy eating a priority in my life, I have a soft spot in my heart for ice cream. I don't know why, but the thought of getting a Dairy Queen Blizzard turns me into a kid heading to Disney World. Greg and I were driving around town the other day when he pointed out a building site and said, "Oh, they're putting in a Dairy Queen there." (We don't have a DQ within 45 miles of our house at the present moment). After my passionate reaction, he said, "I've never seen you that excited before!" and I said, "About ice cream?" And he said, "Nope. About anything." I hope he's kidding about that.

2. I love anything sparkly. This doesn't have to be diamond jewelry related (though oh em gee that is a good way to make my high pitched voice squeal even higher), anything sparkly will do. I don't necessarily own a lot of things that sparkle, but I really enjoy glittery things. A two year old came in the office this week with glittery pink Toms (in 2 year old size!!) and they melted my heart. I have a few canisters of glitter around the house and I really like to just look at them. Like a bird distracted by shiny things.

3. I think television is a fantastic little invention. Greg and I don't have cable, so we don't always have the pick of the litter when it comes to programming. However, sometimes through Amazon Prime or Netflix or whatever, we'll stumble across a new series that we really like. I honestly get so pumped when we snuggle up to a few new (at least to us) episodes of a good show. Current favorites are Arrested Development, The League, Mad Men, and The Newsroom. Love it! 

4. I love my little house, she has such a calm, lovely personality of her own. She also had a gorgeous garden that I have managed to (almost) completely ruin in the two years we've lived here. However, thanks to my husband's heroic efforts (when he isn't actually helping save real lives at work), we have a little garden of our own. It is so fascinating to me to see a flower blooming that we (read: he) grew. I mean, seriously! When is the last time you really looked at a flower? Each and every one is such an amazing miracle. AND SO PRETTY!

Another little miracle. Awww! I also think my husband gets the photo credit for this one. 

5. Two words: Crayola crayons. There is little more exciting in the world than a brand new yellow box of Crayolas. (I can smell them now!) I don't think I need to expand on this, but seeing as I am closer to 30 than any other major age benchmark, I've come to terms with the fact this is not something I will grow out of. Nor should I. 

6. Snail mail. Lately, I have been uber-blessed with a ton of hand-written letters and cards out of the blue. How exciting is it to check the mail and see a real card?? Even more exciting? An unexpected package! I will try to make an effort to send out more random letters and packages, I think it's a pretty universal thing to get excited about, right?


These came to mind right away, and my challenge to myself (and YOU) is to try and find a few little things every day that really make me excited (happy, joyful, etc). I have a feeling that if we spent a little bit more time on finding the excitement in everyday life, we'd feel a lot more magical :)

Have an amazing weekend! As usual, I'd love to hear about what little things get you excited - comment below if you have some suggestions for the rest of us to look for :)

Christine