I'm Smiling Because...

Until about a month ago, some mornings found me scowling into my coffee cup.  My morning irritant was opening a can of sweetened condensed milk, my creamer of choice.  Why would that put me in such a bad mood?  Because I have a bad can opener.  Yep, a kitchen tool.

Ok, it wasn't just the opener, it was the whole tedious process of opening the can.  The condensed milk would well up and get all over the little can opener gear, which I'd have to rinse off, then the "lid" would need to be pried off with much effort, sometimes having to go over and over that one little bit of tin that just will not cut through!  I'm getting sweaty hands and furrowed brow just thinking about this whole process.

Then the condensed milk stuck to the lid would need to be scraped off.  Well, this part wasn't that bad because I sometimes (gasp!) licked off the little bit left behind on the lid.  Of course, I always had visions of cutting my tongue in half and having to explain to the EMTs how that happened....

So it was an ORDEAL that I always dreaded.  But now!  Oh, happy day! I got a new can opener!  It's hard to believe what a difference a really good kitchen tool makes, especially when you've been dealing with a really mediocre kitchen tool.

Really, is it possible to go all giddy about a can opener?  (Don't answer that.)  What makes us smile?  The big victories - honestly won and shared with loved ones - can give us a smile and satisfaction that lasts for a while.  But little daily things can also give the same amount of satisfaction because they are daily.

Someone once said that 5% of our lives is made up of big events: birthdays, anniversaries, parties, special events.  The other 95% is daily life; mundane things that happen over and over.  Most people work to make that 5% special... while leaving the rest to simply pass by, unnoticed, unheralded, unappreciated.  But that's 95% of our lives!  What great little things in your life are going unnoticed and underappreciated; that make you smile?

Anyway, I digress.  The reason this new can opener is so much better is because it somehow "undoes" (is that a word?) the top of the can... it's not cutting through the tin.  So there are no sharp edges, no upwelling of treacherous sweet liquids, nothing.  You use this miracle tool, and then you lift the top off, easy as pie.

I do not work for Pampered Chef and have not been paid to write this blog.  But there it is.  Their can opener puts a smile on my face whenever I have to open a can of anything.  And I think of how simple things like a super duper can opener can make me smile, make my day a little brighter, and appreciate 100% of the life I've been given.