Ordinary Happiness
Summertime is when I most often think of the ordinary happiness I had as a child. Remember that peaceful feeling in the 1950’s and 1960’s when it didn’t take much to make a day complete. When things as simple as these brought joy and contentment:
- Making flower necklaces by weaving stems of flowers together.
- Observing the markings of a horseshoe crab that has traveled across the beach.
- Walking barefoot down a cold refreshing streambed.
- Having picnics/barbeques with families in the neighborhood and playing softball.
- The smell of air-dried laundry.
- Playing a game of ball and jacks.
- Sitting on a fence and chewing on a blade of long sweet grass.
- Contentment with an icy cold slice of watermelon, the juice running down my face.
Once upon a time, these were the things that people looked forward to. Life is never simple, even back in the day worries like feeding a handful of children, whether a crop was going to be washed out by a incoming storm and a flat tire without a car jack still existed yet something as simple as coming home to a freshly baked pie sitting on the windowsill to cool was the ultimate counter-balance to a hard days labor.
Slow down, look for the moments where you can create old-fashioned fun for yourself or your family. Things to be most grateful for are really very simple delights. Simple idyllic moments in a lifetime is the true essence of what a fulfilling life is all about.
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