Summer offers up some of the year’s easiest, effortless and most wonderful Simple Joys. My children are off from school, my parents are around, and my husband gets a shorter work day on Friday allowing us to begin our weekend a few hours earlier.
Swimming, afternoon thunderstorms, and going to the movies are some of the great joys of the season.
Again, every moment that brings a smile, a sprinkle of laughter, or a feeling of bliss is a Simple Joy pure and, well, simple!
As with any time of the year, I rely on the Simple Joys to bridge the times in my day that are difficult, frustrating, or just unpleasant.
When a person gets used to inviting Simple Joys into their life, the other stuff melts away faster.
Now, without further ado, is this week’s Simple Joys.
Play-off Game. The beginning of last week found my eldest and his Little League baseball team in a play-off game. It took an extra inning to determine the winner, but at the end my son’s team reigned victorious. They were to play in the finals at the end of the week.
Afterward, regardless of it being 9pm EST and well passed all of our bedtimes, we took our hungry children to the local McDonald’s to celebrate the win and feed them all a late dinner!
We didn’t get home until nearly 10pm EST and no one got to bed until well all 10pm EST, but it was a joyous night accompanied by the fact that it was the children’s first full day of summer vacation and no one had to get up early the next morning!
Simple Joys were ever present that night as we watched baseball, urged our team on when they became the underdogs, celebrated when they won, dined on fun foods, and closed the day with loving hugs and kisses to end the perfect first day of summer vacation.
Heat wave. Heat waves are… hot. Yup, you read that right. And, honestly, that’s uncomfortable at best and miserable for the rest. But, thankfully, my parents offer my children and me a respite from the heat, something I am grateful as I do not have air conditioning.
We goop up (apply suntan lotion) and spend the day swimming at my parents' lake. The water is cool and refreshing, the company is neat, and the memories are priceless.
Spending the day at my folk’s lake house during a heat wave is the ultimate Simple Joy!
Baseball practice. In the middle of the heat wave the Little League coach called a baseball practice in anticipation of playing the final game of the season. It was HOT. But my boy and I went with a ton of cold water and a good attitude.
The night before my husband had taken my son to practice hitting pitched baseballs. They worked for hours and my son had mediocre success.
His first at bat at practice he struck out. His second he got a hit! We were overjoyed!
Although he'd had other hits in the season, he'd been in a slump. Seeing the delight in his eyes and knowing how important it was to him was a Simple Joy an entire season in the making.
Writers in the family. Last week my oldest son began a blog for the summer. In an effort to get him to write more I started a blog for him to encourage daily writing. It worked! Although he still struggles to organize his thoughts and find good words to illuminate his writing, the daily exercise is paying off.
On top of that he has garnered a loyal readership already! This is the highlight of his day when it comes to writing; seeing the comments that roll in on his blog are a huge Simple Joy for him!
My middle boy can barely write. He knows his alphabet and some simple words, but has yet to master more than some simple sentences. This, however, did not stop him over the weekend. He had just completed watching the film version of The Lord of the Rings Trilogy and was inspired! He asked me to staple a “bunch of papers together so I can write a book”. So, of course, I did.
My boy’s book is a series of crayon-colored pictures and story written in his brother’s hand, his own, and mine. He is so very proud of the progress he is making and the product’s look. I am so abundantly proud of the writers I am developing in my home. Simple Joys all around!
Good hair day. I know, it’s vain and terribly surface of me. I can’t help it. I like having pretty hair. And I have it some of the times like when it’s not humid and I have time and the curling iron and my hair listen to me. But, that seems few and far between in the hazy, hot, and humid days of summer. Normally I don’t care as I swim so much that my hair seems perpetually wet. But, after three days of an intense early summer heat wave, Saturday started beautifully with crisp air, bright blue skies, and dryness that inspired me! My hair behaved itself and, after the beautification treatment (shower, product, blow dry, and curling iron) I turned out with… really good hair! Listen, sometimes there is no better Simple Joy than that and so that is my last Simple Joy of the week.
Wishing you a week filled with Simple Joys that make you smile, laugh, breathe easier, and inspire you in myriad ways.
Please join me tomorrow as I wax poetic on yet another topic on Freestyle Wednesday on Chief 187™Chatter.
My simple joy has been a book called "The Top Five Regets of the Dying" by Bronnie Ware because on more than once occasion since starting to read it, it has calmed me down from the state of mind I had been in. I think it's because it makes you take a step back and makes you realize how much you have in common with others. It's a fantastic read and I highly recommend it (I'm realizing stuff about myself in the process).
ReplyDeleteExcellent recommendation, Erin! Thank you and continued good luck on your journey!
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