tag
So I’ve been tagged by CarmaSez to articulate six things that make me happy. I had to think about this for a day before I could get to it, because I didn’t want ‘When Graboid works’ to be one of them. And for any of you who have braved my 100 Random Things About Me meme, you know that a list isn’t just a list with me. It has many semicolons and parentheses. So let’s see what I can come up with.
1. See, the problem is that most of my happinesses are in the past tense. I like having eaten well; I like having gone for a walk. I like having met my writing goals, my school goals. OK, maybe my happinesses are pluperfect. But I’m not really an ‘in the moment’ kind of girl, and I’m done punishing myself for that. But, hm, the first of six things is probably baths. The kind with oil and good smells that makes your skin red all over. The kind that makes you sweat. The kind with a book that’s so good that after you’ve gotten out and wrapped up in a huge bath sheet, you go to airdry on your bed and keep reading. Preferably falling asleep at some point.
2. Happiness the second (and no, these are not in any particular order) is kissing. Who cares who’s reading this: I like it. A lot. It’s one of those happinesses that can be present, past, and pluperfect.
3. Reading out loud. I’ve never read to anyone - or if I have, I can’t remember - but I love to read out loud. The first audiobook I ever listened to was A Child’s Christmas in Wales by Dylan Thomas, and the man was a master reader. I’ve tried ever since to imitate him, probably failed parlously, but that doesn’t matter. It’s the only time I like the sound of my own voice. And the best place to read out loud? In the bath. The acoustics are great.
4. Cows. Cows make me very happy. Watching them, talking to them (I don’t often have the occasion, sadly), contemplating them. Cows are beautiful creatures, so slow and peaceful. We could all chew a page out of a cow’s book.
5. Pub nights. Not clubs, not bars. Pubs. Preferably a patio of a summer’s evening with a double for everyone (followed by another and another) and a big ashtray in the middle of the table. Quiet nights that aren’t quiet, when you’re not required to be clever but it’s fun if you are, when you’re allowed to shriek with laughter and fall on people’s shoulders and grasp their hands and give them kisses. Strange happiness for a misanthrope, but there you are.
6. Finally: people asking me questions about English history. I really, really do like that. It gives me something more than pride. It’s permission to elaborate on something I love, when generally this is what makes me strange and shitty at conversation. Usually this takes the form of friends asking me to annotate epic dramas. I remember one day years ago when a friend called and asked, ‘Hey, do you still have that Anne of the Thousand Days rental?’ I told her I had, and get this: she asked if she could come over and watch it, ‘… and if I have any questions, can we pause it while you answer them?’ I fell in love that day.
That’s it: six things. I think I broke a sweat; I think it’s time for a bath. But first, I tag:
Gretchen McNeil
Marsha Moore
Colleen Lindsay
Liz Medwid
Amy Bai
Kim Bewick
The rules are as follows: link to the person who gave you the award; write down six things that make you happy; post the rules; tag six others and let them know you’ve done it; tell the person who tagged you when your entry is up.
Till next time, if God wills it, &c &c
