The thing about hating everyone and everything is that it requires a lot of energy. I’m not saying I’m not up to the task, you understand; but it’s pretty hard to sustain, even for me. I have to stop and rest every so often. It’s just common sense.

So today, despite my best efforts to continue being a tremendous harpy towards those around me, I cheered up.

Damn.

But it wasn’t my fault. I’m only human.

You don’t believe me? Let me count the ways.

1) We slept in this morning. All three of us. I didn’t know which of us–if any, or all–were going to turn up sick, so I figured why get up early if we might not be going anywhere. I could delay wake-up nearly an hour and still get Chickadee to school on time if I drove her instead of putting her on the bus, so we slept. Have I mentioned how much I like sleep?

2) Chickadee was fever-free this morning. And sassy. And obstinate. A total pain in the rear. Clearly feeling much better!

3) I did not recoil from the sunlight and hiss when I woke up this morning. True, I didn’t feel my most marvelous, but the Headache From Hell has morphed into (more manageable) headcold symptoms. I’ll take it.

4) Work is insane. A normal person probably wouldn’t be cheerful over that. However, I am still ridiculously grateful to have landed where I am. The distraction, in and of itself, is good. We all know what happens when I’m left with too much time to think. Nothing good can come of that. But I dig what I’m doing and every little piece of positive feedback causes me to just privately preen and be amazed.

5) I managed to laugh about something that had been pissing me off. Okay; I had a little help on that one. Sometimes I need a little help. Especially when I’m busy being RIGHT. (Not. One. Word.)

6) I got a package in the mail that I’d forgotten was coming. Stuff! In the mail! That I forgot about! It’s like Christmas all over again! And you know how sometimes you order something, and it arrives, and it’s all wrong or just not quite what you’d expected? Or–and this happens to me a lot, because I’m such a bargainhound–you find a fantastic deal on something and then when it comes, you realize WHY it was on sale? This was magic. This was the receipt of something completely frivolous for which I paid next to nothing, and I opened it up and it leapt out of the package and told me I’m super pretty.

7) I put away laundry. Pitiful, I know. But it makes me happy. And besides, I’m pretty and you’re probably just jealous. (See #6.)

8) Someone called me to make me smile. And it worked. Of course, I was dealing with the laundry at the time, but still. Some credit is probably due.

Don’t worry; it probably won’t last. But I’m kinda digging it.