What are your two favorite things to wear?

I’ve been in a funk this past week and the last several daily prompts have either been a.) repetitive, b.) stupid, or c.) too heavy. I’ve written and wrote, and wrote some more but hesitated to post anything.

Today’s prompt is easy.

My favorite piece of clothing to wear would be my yoga pants. I have short pants (capris). I have long pants (ankle length). I have approximately nine pairs of each and regularly replace as needed. (Amazon LOVES me.) I wear them to work (home). I wear them to the gym (home). I wear them while shopping, while traveling, while relaxing. They have pockets, are extremely flattering, and are warm. I can bend, jump, run, and squat in them. When I’m required to wear jeans or “onsite work pants”, I’m miserable and can think of nothing else but sliding into a buttery pair of leggings. They are my absolute favorite piece of clothing!

My second favorite thing to wear is a smile. When I put on a smile, it’s like turning on a light switch. Not only does smiling improve my mood, but there is a marked positive shift in moods around me. Smiling is contagious. I enjoy smiling at my family to emphasize how much I love them or how proud I am of them. I enjoy smiling at random strangers, especially the outwardly grumpy ones. Bonus points if I can “turn their frown upside down”. I enjoy smiling at babies, for the sole purpose of trying to get them to emulate. Baby smiles are high up on my list of “greatest things in the world”. I smile through happy tears. I smile through uncomfortable situations. And I love smiling mischievously to myself. I have have oodles of inside jokes. There’s not a potion on the planet that will erase these smile lines. They are etched into my face like weathered and eroded rock formations.

Unlike my trusty yoga pants, however, smiling has been somewhat difficult to wear lately. Life has been… complicated. I’m worried sick about my oldest. The boy is close to leaving the nest and seems to only want to spend time working or with his girlfriend and her family. My job has been taxing. I’ve been feeling… taken advantage of. The holidays aren’t as magical as they used to be. Everything is commercialized and it sucks. It’s cold and mostly overcast and I miss the sun.

But like my yoga pants, I will continue to slip on a smile. Fake it until you make it, am I right?