Utterly Amazing!

Posted On February 3, 2012

I am choosing yet again to participate in my amazing instructors blog hop, by compiling my list of bliss for this week.  I so enjoyed doing it last week, I thought I’d give it a go once again.  Did you ever notice that when you make a concerted effort to smile at folks, things just seem better?  I’ve even been known to smile and wave at grumpy people, just because it makes ME feel better, and that’s what’s important, right?  No, seriously.  Sometimes when you are just having a shitty, crappy day, sometimes just a smile from a stranger letting you know that they are right there with ya, or empathizing your pain or just spreading their own bubbly energy can be enough to turn your mood around in a better direction.  I’m thinkin’, this bliss thing, is similar to that.  If you make a concerted effort to recognize–even during a really awful week–that some really cool things happened, then things don’t seem so bad in retrospect.  So here goes:

 

• Picking up my man from the airport after a four day weekend away.  This was blissful for a number of reasons.  First, he truly is my best friend, and I missed him bunches–absence isn’t so bad though, in that it just shows how much you appreciate them upon their return.  It was quite nice to have some bonding time with my boys–usually weekends are definitely dad heavy with the kids. However, I was glad he was back to his established role as the fun guy in the house.  Yeah, I can be fun, but I’m the more practical, down to business role in our fam:  everyone’s clean, dressed, and at their designated places, well fed, and generally occupied in some manner.  Dad, on the other hand, being a big kid himself, is just pure fun in the kid’s eyes.  Playstation, he’s your man.  Computer class, he’s the guy.  Build something, sure why not? So, although nice to sub every now and then, all of our usual rituals are comfortably back in order.
• I could not believe how many flowers I saw blooming in our neighborhood.  In February.  Unbelievable.  Is it global warming?

  

  Who knows? I don’t know, some of those poor people in Europe seem to be suffering terribly from the cold weather. Who knows why this year is so out of kilter? I really love the change of seasons and am secretly hoping for a big ass snowmagedden at some point, but, hey, who am I to argue when there are flowers blooming and 60 degree weather in winter.  Something just feels right about tooling around with the sunroof open in the midst of winter. How can that not make you smile?

• I went antiquing for the very first time!  How fun was that?  First of all it was a supremely sunny and lovely day for February.  But it was a hoot.  My style is very plain Jane, and probably more classic and contemporary, transitional I think is the term. However, I did manage to score some art that just spoke to me. It’s just a big metal star surrounded by a ring of wrought metal.  I don’t think it was antique, but I liked it.  And isn’t that what art really is?  Surrounding yourself with beauty that makes YOU happy?  But it was more than that.  Just plain everyone was in a great mood.  It was contagious.  I swear to you,

  

  every single person was smiling and looked like they were having a good time.  A wood fired oven turning out fresh baked pizza and a made from scratch donut cart wafting their incredible delicious smelling scents didn’t hurt either. How could you not enjoy it?  I also got a total rise out of all of the sayings that were scattered about for one reason or another.  This bench in the inset is a good example.  How can you not chuckle when you are reading gems like this?

• Another perfect way to end the week–girl bonding time.  Happily, a dear friend of mine dragged me along to this wonderful Groundhog Day sale.  She is one of those friends that’s just easy.  She knows how I think.  She makes me smile.  I love that when she’s telling some odd story about her kids and how she handled it, I could totally see myself doing the same thing.  It can almost get uncanny sometimes how similar we can be.  Of course we are different in many ways too, but that’s what makes it a good connection. Enough similarity to keep interest and relate, but enough difference to expose each other to different things and help keep things from getting boring.  I think we complement each other in such a way that you never need worry about keeping score or saying something frank.  She just gets it.  So, an entire day with a friend like who makes you smile, laugh and just be you?  What’s not to like?

That about sums up some of the high points to the week.  So think seriously about the week you had.  Really contemplate.  Actually list some things that made you truly blissful.    (I’d love to hear them, by the way!) Once you take a look at them, I think you’ll be smiling.  And isn’t that what life’s all about?  Savoring all those wonderful moments and living in the absolute present.  Love it.