The Simple Things

Sometimes when life gets a little too weird, or too hectic, or too shitty, it helps to think about the simple things in life. Life's little pleasures.

Like the joy of a new tube of toothpaste. I know it sounds silly, but I love a tube of toothpaste that's still new enough to have all the stripes. My mouth feels cleaner after the first squeeze than any other squeeze of the tube.

Or the smell of puppy fur. Something about puppy fur reminds me of the very first puppy I ever had, and since he grew up to become the best dog I ever had, the smell brings back so many joyful memories, I can't help but smile.

The simple pleasure of sitting at my desk and looking at the flower garden beneath my window. I don't know what's planted there, but the pink blooms of one plant and the purple blooms of another just make me happy.

Another example is the smell wafting out of my kitchen right now. My daughter's making apple bread. We're not going to eat even a single slice of any of it (all three loaves are promised to other people), but the smell makes me happy.

I was talking to my mother just now--which is almost always a happy place for me--and she was telling me how the stuffed elephant I sent her for Mother's Day had made her best friend happy. Her best friend has Alzheimer's Disease, and she's in the late stages. She doesn't remember much of anything and at this particular instance, she was very upset and worried about her babies (now all grown children with grown children of their own). My mother handed her the elephant and it's soft fur calmed the woman down. For a brief instant, she was happy.

The sound of the house finches singing outside my window. The feel of my husband's hand in mine. The giggle of a baby. Strawberry cheesecake. A rainbow. A butterfly. Total silence after a noisy day. A hug. My daughter.

All the simple things that can make life such a joy - even when things are tough and you feel like the world is a crappy place to be.

What are some of the simple things in life that make you happy?

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