Tag: Joy!

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happiness is…

This morning I got up before anybody else, ran a pot of coffee, and sat down at the kitchen table to read a little and enjoy the silence.  It’s one of those little pleasures that I’m grateful for in this time of my life. No more racing out the door trying to get little ones to school or church or activities…just me. And the dog.

That damn dog has wriggled her way into my heart in a rather unexpected way. It’s hard not to smile when she presses herself against my leg, wanting to be petted. It’s a little moment of happiness we share.

I’ve been making an effort to find these moments more often, and recognize them for what they are … little expressions of joy that fill my day, and fill up my spiritual and emotional tank.

“Life is made up of small pleasures. Happiness is made up of those tiny successes. The big ones come too infrequently. And if you don’t collect all these tiny successes, the big ones don’t really mean anything.” ~ Norman Lear

A stolen kiss in the kitchen. A favorite song that pops up on the radio. That delicious feeling of sliding between freshly laundered sheets. Getting through the green light at a busy intersection. I’m not particularly discerning about these things (well, maybe about those kisses in the kitchen — there shouldn’t be a limit on those).

I am, however, becoming more and more intentional about noting these moments and being grateful for them. Somehow, they’ve seemed to multiply because of it. Maybe…they were there all along.

What little things make you happy?

 

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finally, I put my feet up and relaxed

The beautiful part about not bringing work home and  having gotten that insanity under control is being able to enjoy the weekends the way they are meant to be enjoyed. In no particular order, I bring to you the highlights of my weekend:

  • cooked
  • ate
  • spent time with friends
  • saw goofy movies
  • read
  • wrote
  • prayed
  • cooked some more
  • went to Mass
  • ate some more
  • shed a tear or three over a moving poem
  • did a human amount of laundry (1 dark 1 white)
  • enjoyed some sidra (no, I didn’t throw it)
  • prayed some rosaries
  • listened to some good music
  • listened to some loud music
  • made a little music
  • drank a lot of coffee
  • read some more
  • wrote a poem
  • had some tea
  • laughed a lot
  • and finally, put my feet up.
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ninja noodles and the perfectly perfect day

Have you ever had a perfect day? I mean, a day that was absolutely Mary Poppins perfectly perfect all the way through? They are pretty rare. And I had one today.

I worked like a beast, too. I figure I probably put in a 14-hour work day. No kidding. It was perfect anyway.

For starters I slept in til 7 o’clock and then put on some comfy work out clothes and stayed that way til 4 in the afternoon. I did a little Harry Potter prep, got to play with my friends on the Secrets of Harry Potter and convinced Father Roderick that he should play Farmville, and I noted that he is already a level seven. This from the man who claimed he would not be addicted. We’ll see how that goes. Ha.

And then, after recording Harry Potter I worked. Like a beast (I think I said that already). Anyway, I have a lot of paperwork to catch up with, both at the college and for SQPN, so to say today was a productive day is an understatement. Still, it’s good to work, especially when it’s all stuff that is enjoyable.

After lunch I had a little business meeting that got me focused on a couple of things, but more than anything, tickled me and gave me the blog title. Wanna know what a ninja noodle is? It’s the patch of cold noodles that you encounter after microwaving pasta. You know, that random patch that somehow avoids detection by those dangerous DNA altering microwaves. That makes me laugh.

It makes me laugh because it’s so simple. I think that’s why I have so thoroughly enjoyed today. There is an element of simplicity in the activities and the relationships with everyone I encountered that put me at ease and gave me joy.

Funny to find that in a noodle, huh?

The soundtrack of my day, courtesy of my little philips mp3 player included about 2 hours of Marvin Gaye on repeat. Scandalous, I know. Even more scandalous is the song: Let’s Get It On. I had it on repeat and listened to it about twenty times before I realized that it had played on repeat. I listen to music for the white noise when I’m writing, and now, Marvin Gaye is forever imprinted in my psyche. Let me tell you that it’s not even a bad thing, really. I mean, once you get past the overt sexual message of the song it’s kinda nice.

We’re all sensitive people
With so much to give
Understand me, sugar
Since we got to be
Let’s live

Don’t you know
How sweet and wonderful life can be?

You see? That’s not awful. It’s actually pretty nice. I just won’t include the other stuff.

So you see, it was a perfect day. The shit will hit the fan tomorrow, but today…today was grand.

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