Today marks the eleventh anniversary of the happiest day of my life.

In 2015, in a true miracle of science, my husband Jamie was cured of the hepatitis C he got from a blood transfusion during a childhood heart operation. You really don't want to have hepatitis C; eventually, it destroys your liver. Jamie tried many treatments over the years, but nothing worked until a new treatment was approved. January 9, 2015, when a test reported that the virus was “not detected,” was the most purely happy day of my life.

Onward,

5 Things Making Me Happy

 1 

I’ve never been good at folding sweaters, and I was delighted to learn a new trick that helps folded items stay folded. It’s a whole new approach! And it’s easier than it looks.

 2 

Is there a project in your life that’s just…not getting done? Whether you’re feeling frustrated, overwhelmed, or unfocused, my new Audible Original, Get It Done: How to Complete Your Dream Project, can help you push that project across the finish line. In Get It Done, I talk about practical strategies, provide step-by-step worksheets, and share insights from my own life to help you create a personalized plan to stay on track. 

 3 

I love a good trend piece, and I was very interested to learn that “America is falling out of love with pizza.” Some notable facts: In the United States, pizzerias come third after coffee shops and Mexican food eateries; we hit peak pizzeria in 2019; on any given day, one in 10 Americans eat a pizza slice; young people eat the most pizza. As a low-carb person, I never eat pizza, but my family complains about my habit of sneaking pepperoni off the top whenever an opportunity presents itself.

 4 

I love learning a new word, and my walks through the Metropolitan Museum often build my vocabulary. I learned that in art, a roundel is a “small, circular decorative element, often a medallion or a picture/pattern contained within a circle, used in architecture (like niches or windows) or as a component of a larger work.” Now, as I walk through the galleries, I find myself looking for roundels. 

 5 

My one-word theme for the year is “Neighbor,” and I’m still figuring out how exactly I will incorporate this concept into 2026. It seems to me that an element of neighborliness is holding a belief in the good intentions of others, so I was curious to learn about the current state of social trust. According to the Pew Research Center, in the United States, 55% of adults say most people can be trusted, and 44% say that most people can’t be trusted. In a study of 25 countries, Sweden has the most social trust, with 83% saying that most people can be trusted, with 17% saying they can’t be trusted, while in Turkey, 14% say most people can be trusted, and 84% disagree.

INTERVIEW

Chris Bailey