When I think of a role model for good moods and happiness, I don’t think of any particular positive person who leaves an example to follow.  Don’t get me wrong, I know many a bright eyed and busy tailed person, but someone who is incredibly happy every waking moment?  That gets joy out of all the small wonders and surprises each day brings?   There is one that comes to mind when I am low and need to cheer up.

It’s so easy to let the little things get to us and pile up and weigh us down.   Not to mention the big things.  From giant work projects to a nail in the front right passenger tire (I swear the inside of my tires are covered in magnets) and from the little disagreements to the bigger problems underneath.  All of this easily deters us from enjoying the sound of laughter, the sunrise, the chance at something great that every single day brings.  When I am festering on the little annoyances and the bigger ones, I think of a face that I need to emulate.  And even the thought makes me smile.

Plain Jane (PJ) was left without a home and she had just lost her whole family, all of her children and all she had was a chance.  One morning, she could be chosen for the life that would make her happy.  It would be her turn.  I met her, and she had very sad eyes, and she rested her head on my knee, as if the weight of the world was on her shoulders and she needed respite.  I knew she would be the present from my mother to my dad for Valentine’s Day.

Just a few years later, Peej is the happiest creature on the planet.  She cannot stop jumping from the excitement of every new encounter and familiar acquaintance that comes her way.  She walks on the tops of picket fences and jumps over 10 feet in the air.  She craves adventure, calms fights, and loves deeply.  Her whole world is in each moment she has.  And she has the world.