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Some years ago, my daughter gave me the book The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. I found it a fascinating and instructive read. I skimmed back through the book about a week ago, paying particular attention to passages I’d underlined and notes I’d written in the margins. For example:

  • “We can change the lens through which we view everything. This is a choice we can make.”
  • “Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good.” Voltaire
  • About raising little ones: “ The days are long, but the years are short.” PERSONAL NOTE: I like this statement a lot better than the one I heard at the grocery store when my two toddlers (born just 20 months apart and now 44 and 46 years old) were both having temper tantrums at the check-out counter. A well-meaning elderly lady tapped me on the shoulder and said, “Appreciate them now. They grow up so fast.” I remember wanting to say, “Here lady, you take them and appreciate them now!”
  • “You don’t have to be good at everything.” (Confession: I am NOT good at singing. In fact, I can’t carry a tune. Not even when singing Happy Birthday!)
  • “People actually prefer that you buy wedding gifts off their registry.” (This was an eye opener as I always wrack my brain to think of unique gifts! This statement can also apply to Amazon lists people now create for holidays.)
  • “No deposit, no return.” (Think about this one for a bit.)
  • Robert Frost: “The best way out is always through.” (Especially applicable in these days before our U.S. election.)

So how about it?  These are literally darker days because daylight savings time ended this past weekend in the U.S. Some would say these are darker times because they’re filled with the threat of and depressing news about Covid. They’re filled with pre-election insanity, divisiveness, climate crisis and environmental worries, and whatever else might be assailing us at the moment. So how about sitting down and creating a little happiness project of our own?  You’ve got it: the word for our quadrille today is happiness. Or any form of the word (not synonym) as in happy, happier, happiest. Maybe verbify it and happy somebody! Or how about a happylicious ice cream cone as a treat? Any way you look at it, your poem of exactly 44 words, sans title, must include the word happiness or a form of the word. This will be our dVerse Happiness Project!

And just to put a smile on your face, to get you in the mood, I’ll share some fun photos I’ve taken and one video I think you’ll chuckle at.

5 dogs on a Boston bench as seen on our walk last week!
Self-portrait drawn by our granddaughter in kindergarten. She wanted to be very specific and that day she notices “lines in her eyes around her pupils!”
Can you find our grandchildren in this pile of leaves?

The love of music really does run in our family! Even with Percy!

NEW TO DVERSE? NEED TO BE REFRESHED ON THE RULES?

HERE’S WHAT WE DO:

  • Write a quadrille (a poem of EXACTLY 44 words, not including the title) AND include the word “happiness” or a form of the word within the body of the poem. A synonym for happiness does not fulfill the prompt. It must be the word, or a form of the word like happy, happier, happiest.
  • Post the poem to your blog AND add the exact URL for your poem to Mr. Linky below.
  • REMEMBER to either TAG dVerse in your post, or include a link at the end of your poem that leads readers back to dVerse (https://dversepoets.com). 
  • If there is no Tag or link back to dVerse, I will gently remind you to add it or remove your post from Mr. Linky. Sorry to be so harsh…..but this is just part of the requirements AND it will bring you more readers and lead more folks to dVerse so they can participate as well!