Little pleasures

Have you missed me? Have you, uhm, even noticed I was missing?

Well, I was. I was busy with three overlapping things. The first thing I was busy with was getting ready to be inundated with family. Joe and Lisa flew in for a visit and the other kids came home or met up with us during different parts of the visit. The second thing I was busy with was the actual visit. Along with all the kids and the lone grandkid, Jeff's brother and some old famly friends also put in appearances. I was very very busy.

Overlapping both of these activities was the third thing I was doing - whenever I wasn't doing anything else, and it was probably a very good thing I had other required things to be doing or I would have done this particular thing 24/7 and just fallen into complete despair, and that was watching the television coverage of the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina.

After everyone went home, theoretically I was looking forward to getting back to my every day routine and activities. What really happened though was I watched more news coverage and wandered around feeling overwhelmed and depressed. Understandable, if not particularly productive or emotionally healthy. Thankfully, today I finally felt like I turned a bit of a uphill corner. I found I was enjoying some very, very simple moments in life. The same moments that were there the day before but went unnoticed, today felt like small, compassionate gifts.

In the midst of all the tragedy and my general feeling of helplessness and frustration, what made me happy today? Well, the sheer pleasure my puppy took in sleeping in the sun. Noticing how the sun frosted just the very edge of a frayed old quilt hanging on the clothesline. The absolutely heady mingled scents of the tomato plants and basil leaves in the garden as I brushed up against them. The wild abandon of the wind as it flung a thunderstorm across the valley. The creaminess of a pumpkin spice latte. The air being chilly enough to allow me to wear my soft new socks (black with cat faces on them) for the first time. The unexpected curl of my son's hair as it spills over his ears. The familiar squeak of the wood floor in the hallway. Taking photographs of the first crop of peaches bobbing warm and fuzzy on my young peach tree.

Although it's certainly true that it's the little things in life that often drive us crazy, it's equally true that it's the little things that bring us back to our sanity. A new car might make us happy, but it's a hot cup of tea in our favorite chipped tea cup that makes us content.