Simple Joys

Welcome to Simple Joys on Chief 187™Chatter.

As this is Thanksgiving Week Simple Joys is the most appropriate of posts. My husband calls Simple Joys my weekly gratitude list which it truly is.

Thanksgiving is a holiday that directs us to look inwardly to evaluate and give thanks. It seems to be an extension of Simple Joys.

For me, Thanksgiving is a celebration of the Simple Joys we’ve experienced in the 12 months since the last one.

This past week for me has been chock full of experiences filled with amazing opportunities, tremendous people, and Simple Joys at every turn.

And now, without further ado, is this week’s Simple Joys.

Magazines. I subscribe to several magazines that I enjoy but rarely have the time to read anymore. As I was planning what to pack for my trip to Homestead-Miami Speedway I was overly giddy that I’d be afforded the time to read.

As luck and timing would have it, the mail lady delivered two of my favorite magazines. What made it all the more delightful was they were the holiday/Christmas editions, my all-time favorite issues to peruse leisurely.

I set the magazines aside in my carry-on luggage and indulged in some luxurious reading on the plane. This was truly a very enriching and decadent Simple Joy!

Packing. Like most of you I detest packing. Whether I am going on a car trip with my entire family or traveling by plane I am panicked by the idea of choosing a finite amount of outfits, accessories, beauty products and hair appliances to satisfy my possible needs while away.

Traveling alone by plane to Miami required creativity and abandon of the creature comforts for “beauty” I normally require. I needed to have only carry-on luggage, be able to carry it myself, and turn out a decent me each day on minimal supplies.

I’ll leave the subjective opinion of how “beautiful” I was to others, but I found traveling with “bare-bones” supplies to be a huge and encouraging Simple Joy that I can survive with far less and be free from the tortures of “too much stuff”.

Confidence. As a teenager I had created opportunities for myself to travel via plane alone several times. I was a “seasoned” air traveler by 17. But, although I still board an airplane on average once a year, I hadn’t done it alone in over two decades.

In addition, this time I was traveling to a new city/airport, had sketchy plans, and was meeting people I work with on air for the very first time in person. It was all a bit overwhelming.

My plans had hiccups that required immediate decision-making and action along the way, but I rose to the occasion and handled everything by myself. All worked out well – excellently, actually – and I now revel in the Simple Joy that I had the confidence to handle everything myself.

Brother. I have a brother – my oldest – who lives in Florida. We are very close yet we don’t see one another nearly enough in recent years. My trip to Miami was for business, but circumstances allowed for us to get together my first night in town.

My brother drove over two hours to see me, take me to Coconut Grove, and dine with me al fresco at a neat café. We talked, laughed, had cocktails and shared dinner, and just had a dynamite time. Seeing my brother, even for that short time, was a grand and enriching Simple Joy.

My Team. The world we live in is a bit crazy even to this lady. My career takes place “on-line” and the people I am lucky enough to work with had heretofore existed there only to me. My trip to Miami was a last-minute deal that was offered to me by the station owner who airs two of the radio shows I do; I jumped at the chance.

Station owner and on-air talent Bob Steele and our co-host Andy Delay were the two men and talents who made up my team. We had instant chemistry in person like we’d experienced on air over the months we have worked together.

In fact, the chemistry is so strong with these two gentlemen that I know without a shadow of a doubt they are my lifelong friends.

Finally meeting and adoring my team was a Simple Joy that was most powerful and life-altering for the better in my life.

Normally I stop at five Simple Joys per week. This week I must add a sixth.

Family. I had the opportunity to ask the NASCAR community at Miami-Homestead Speedway about their Simple Joys as we headed into this Thanksgiving Weekend. I got a wide range of truly awesome answers. I am compiling them into a special article that will appear on MotorsportsUnplugged.com for the Thanksgiving holiday.

Although the answers I received were widely varied, one answer appeared most often – Family.

As I wing my way back to my home I know that no matter how much fun I had, how well I did my job, and how extraordinary my experiences were, my family – and being back with them – is the most important, strong, and passionate Simple Joy I have this week and every week.

Remember, Simple Joys are accessible to all who open their hearts and minds to them.

Certainly life presents obstacles, stresses, and road blocks to happiness, serenity, and peace. By changing one’s perspective even for a moment every hour to allow for Simple Joys to find you, life will improve, dark times will get brighter, and Simple Joys will grow exponentially with time.

Wishing you all another week filled with Simple Joys and a blessed Thanksgiving!