A love letter

I spent a really nice evening with friends tonight. Spring is here, and it was a rainy day which turned into a rainy night. At my friend's house, while a couple of the guys prepared one of the most delicious meals I've ever eaten, the rest of us played a board game. The game was a raucous, competitive one with lots of laughing and  friendly arguing, which is my favorite kind of game.

Later, as I was eating dinner, feeling quite content, I looked out the now dark and rainy second story window across from me and what did I see? A helium balloon with a long ribbon tied to it, floating up and away. It was honestly magical. (I tried hard not to think that a child may have lost it, though watching a balloon float majestically away is better than watching it slowly deflate inside anyway.)

It was a nearly perfect moment. A belly full of good food, a nice evening with friends, feeling warm and happy inside, while looking out at the rainy night sky with a balloon floating by.

The other night I was with friends and I jokingly said that I don't believe in love. My friend Brady said, "that's a lie, you write about love in your blog all the time." I said, "I do??" And he said, "yeah, you're always writing about how much you love your friends and family and everything." It surprised me that he said that because I didn't realize I write about that that much. But I was also happy that he said that because I really do have a lot of love in my life. And many people to be grateful for.

Today my home teacher shared a wonderful lesson with me about looking for the good. The truth, for all of us, is that life is difficult. Everyone is going through a trial, whether great or small, and it's easy to become down and cynical. It's often hard to find the good in our lives because the bad demands so much more attention and is easier to focus on. But I have found that when I really try to find the good, I can. And I'm much happier.

One of the things I've been thinking a lot about lately is how blessed I am in the friends department (and I include my family in that as well since I consider my family my friends). I seriously have such wonderful friends. They make me laugh, they support me, encourage me, and show me love. When it comes to "looking for the good," I often look to my friends because of how good they are to me and how much they enrich my life.

I know this post is a slight deviation from what I normally write about but I can't help it - a helium balloon sent me over the edge of happiness and I had to share some of it with you all. I hope that you are able to find the good in your lives and share it. Happiness really is contagious.