Things That Make Me Happy

I had dinner with Ty and Jaci and the babies last night. As I was leaving, Boston was being five years old and wouldn't kiss me good-bye. It made me sad, as I realized there are 19 days left when I can get in-person hugs and kisses. Of course, that then made me reflect on everything in my life that's less than optimal (oh, don't I do this well?). No man in my life. A house with backed-up plumbing. A job with crummy benefits and somewhat meager salary. Woe is me.

As I was going through this litany of woes in my head, the Et Resurrexit of the Bach "Mass in b minor" came on XM Classics. Wow! That movement makes me smile and makes my heart leap for joy every time I hear it. That then led me to thinking about all the things that make me happy. Of course many of them are related to music.

In addition to that Bach mass, much of Bach's music lights me up. I've got a Baroque soul.
Also:

• Brahms Liebeslieder Walzer, which I sang in college


• Mozart four-hand piano sonatas, specifically the D Major, which the PianoLady and I have played more times than I can count.


• Fauré Requiem, which John and I sang in the Church of the Madeleine in Paris, accompanied on the organ that Fauré played during his tenure there.


• The fugue form in general. I love the mathematical precision of the fugue. It appeals to my brain. Okay, so I'm a geek.


• Saint-Saëns "Organ Symphony", from which was drawn the music for the movie "Babe" (which I also love).


• Rachmaninoff "Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini", and the movie "Somewhere in Time" whose sound track is based on that work.


• Bach "Air on a G String", from the Suite in D.


• Any piano music that I learned as a child.


• "Lady of Spain" played on the accordion (which I played as a child).

Okay, and there are non-musical things that light me up, such as:

• Daffodils, specifically in Rock Creek Park


• Fall leaves, especially in Rock Creek Park


• The sound of Rock Creek breaking over the rocks

Ummm, do you see a pattern here?

Oh yeah, the sparkle of Rock Creek in the sun as seen from the front deck of our house on Irving Street, NW. And the sound of the gibbons and the lions from the zoo on sunny mornings.

Now that I memorialize this partial list, I guess I don't have it so bad. Now if I can just forget men, jobs, 55-year-old plumbing (in the house, not in me!), and the fact that the babies are leaving in 18 days, I guess my life is pretty happy.

(added later upon reflection)

Singing harmony!