Simple Joys

Welcome back to Simple Joys. Started as a one off on Chief 187 Chatter to express my gratitude, this feature quickly became the most popular and well-read post I offer weekly. With the world in the state it is in, the financial forecast icy, political climate lackluster, and nightly news depressing, the success of Simple Joys proves that people are aching for positivity, optimism, and hope. My Simple Joys may be uniquely mine, but the goal is for all who read to get in touch with their Simple Joys, recognize them, enjoy them, and be more aware of them each and every day. Now, without further ado, is this week’s Simple Joys.

Days Off. My husband was able to take two glorious days off of work to enjoy the visit of his family, his mom and dad and his maternal grandfather. They all descend this time of year to celebrate our oldest child’s birthday. Upon hearing the plans I made while his family was visiting, my husband realized he didn’t want to miss out on priceless memory making. All too often we put work ahead of all else. Of course my husband feels lucky to have a job, but his family is the most important thing to him. The time together was wonderful and ended much too quickly. Mostly, his children, parents, grandfather, and wife will remember these days all the more because he was around the whole time. Having my husband take a couple of days off in summer is a sublime Simple Joy.

Kindness of a Friend. While the extended family was in New Jersey my parents invited them all to their lake house for a swim and a boat ride to a local restaurant on the lake on which they live. We sat ready for a fun-filled, scenic, and relatively quick ride to the restaurant when the boat stopped running. My father made one phone call and within minutes his friend Dave appeared with help for the boat. He had us back and running in far less than a half hour and our fun day was able to continue. There is nothing better than knowing someone you can count on to help, fix the problem, and answer his phone when you call. Knowing Dave has been a Simple Joy for years!

Good job. I am fortunate to do my job from home. Whether writing, caring for my children, or doing my Internet radio programs, I do the majority of these jobs in my home. In the last week I have been experiencing great joy from how well things continue to go in my career. From lining up guests to creating new contacts and from getting greater exposure to a wider audience to meeting fascinating new people, I am finding that work is a glorious word that puts a smile on my face from the inside out!

Dressing up. Getting dressed up, looking sexy, donning my jewels, and flirting with my husband is one of my favorite past times. We had opportunity to go out on Saturday night and I couldn’t have been happier. Getting the time to spend together when we look our best is a Simple Joy I hold in the highest!

Family. For my son’s 9th birthday family from both sides surrounded us. Celebrating this milestone with multiple generations and reminiscing about life through the years is a nostalgic Simple Joy that I never want to relinquish!

Cake. What’s a birthday without cake? My son requested a cake I have made before and even featured as a recipe in Tantalizing Thursday a couple of months ago. The marble cake he wanted is so moist and rich that it requires no frosting. Being a Bundt cake it was so large it fed adequately sixteen people! Creating, baking, smelling, and eventually eating this divine cake, especially at the request of my son for his ninth birthday was a most scrumptious and rewarding Simple Joy.

Having part of the family leave makes me a bit sad, but remembering the Simple Joys of the previous week reminds me of all the fun we had together. And, knowing that I just need to keep my heart and mind open to finding more Simple Joys encourages me to keep on keeping on because at any moment my next Simple Joy is lurking, waiting to make my life all the more pleasant. My wish for all of you, whether you write them down or simply list them mentally, is to find the Simple Joys that enhance your life each week.

Please join me tomorrow for another original post in which I get to wax poetic!