Happiness....one of many of my lecture topics during this last week. Happiness: a state of being we are so frequently pursuing and relishing in our daily lives. Happiness: an emotion, a meaning, a connection, and achievement. And finally....after a two year rocky start where happiness was experienced yet hard to maintain, we're finally landing in a period of steady joy....and it's a pretty great place to be. I'm not sure if it's the change in housing, social support, recreation, family, resources, jobs, freedom, or a mix of those and many others....but whatever the cause, I'm definitely glad that it's arrived. We're experiencing joy in the big and lil moments of life lately:
--A spontaneous trip to the family beach house finally exposing the dogs to the ocean. Roaring fires in the wood stove, replacement shopping at the outlets (hub has lost quite a bit of weight off his 6'4" frame leading to a need for better fitting clothes), a drizzly run along the beach, and breakfast at the quaint lil bakery in town.
--Arriving last evening at Granny's for a dinner with Dad and my brother and his wife. We arrived in time to help Granny prepare the meal and hub refilled some of her kitchen supplies. We had a great time chatting with and enjoying some of the fam, while the dogs snoozed peacefully in the truck.
--On Thursday my old high school buddy and his wife welcomed their second child into this world; a beautiful baby girl. While I didn't get to see them just yet, I did have a chance to run a blooming plant up to their hospital room while delivery was happening. Something that they can hopefully plant in their yard to enjoy while they watch their little one grow.
--The cats have started bringing us presents which luckily they have left outside the cat door on the garage stoop. Thursday morning we had a 3-4 inch mouse and this morning we woke to find a decent sized squirrel! Who knew cats could catch squirrels?!
--Hub received a phone call yesterday letting us know that he did get accepted into his other choice college. Now he has the opportunity to weigh his options.
--The tulips (my favorite!) are blooming!! And we've been able to spend some more time in the yard. The big compost bin is set up and we've started dumping scraps into it. More bushes have been removed, other bushes have been trimmed, the grass was reseeded in parts, more mulch has been shuffled around, and I bought some starts!
--Hub found a great TV console off craigslist that completes the family room look. Wires are put away.
--We spent an evening at the Blazer game and I have never seen hub look so much like a kid on Christmas! It was the last home game of the season and while I always have mixed thoughts about professional sports, the joy from hub was contagious and it was so great to see him so happy and enjoying himself---definitely made the evening a memorable and fun one! And now the Blazers are off to the play-offs.
--And now I'm off to honor a great mentor of mine: my undergrad college advisor who is retiring. Mr Gallegos inspired me beyond words, pushed me toward an achievable future, and never failed to supply me with letters of recommendation for all my many scholarship and grad school applications. He was almost always a joy to be around, was amazingly passionate about social justice, and created and upheld the social work department's objectives at all times. After his retirement party, I'm headed to dinner with my gal (also a grad from the program and my dear friend who is getting married this fall) to finally catch up some more and then off to listen to a Michael Pollan event hosted at my undergrad institution.
These are some of the perks of late, but there are many more wonderful moments as well. We both recognize that this period of time of less work, more play will probably be full of moments that we look back on with fondness as at some point more work and less play is likely to occur. But for now we'll relish these moments and continue to look forward to more happiness in the future.
--A spontaneous trip to the family beach house finally exposing the dogs to the ocean. Roaring fires in the wood stove, replacement shopping at the outlets (hub has lost quite a bit of weight off his 6'4" frame leading to a need for better fitting clothes), a drizzly run along the beach, and breakfast at the quaint lil bakery in town.
--Arriving last evening at Granny's for a dinner with Dad and my brother and his wife. We arrived in time to help Granny prepare the meal and hub refilled some of her kitchen supplies. We had a great time chatting with and enjoying some of the fam, while the dogs snoozed peacefully in the truck.
--On Thursday my old high school buddy and his wife welcomed their second child into this world; a beautiful baby girl. While I didn't get to see them just yet, I did have a chance to run a blooming plant up to their hospital room while delivery was happening. Something that they can hopefully plant in their yard to enjoy while they watch their little one grow.
--The cats have started bringing us presents which luckily they have left outside the cat door on the garage stoop. Thursday morning we had a 3-4 inch mouse and this morning we woke to find a decent sized squirrel! Who knew cats could catch squirrels?!
--Hub received a phone call yesterday letting us know that he did get accepted into his other choice college. Now he has the opportunity to weigh his options.
--The tulips (my favorite!) are blooming!! And we've been able to spend some more time in the yard. The big compost bin is set up and we've started dumping scraps into it. More bushes have been removed, other bushes have been trimmed, the grass was reseeded in parts, more mulch has been shuffled around, and I bought some starts!
(Blue bells and tulips!)
(Bushes ripped out on either side of gate. Climbing roses will be moved to those locations. Bed to left will be regrassed.)
--Lectures this last week went well and I'm adhering to a better work schedule, which makes work much easier to contain to a few days and parking much easier to find on campus. (Unfortunately public transport is not a good option for this term at least.) First pay check arrived and I'm feeling fortunate to know I have a course lined up for this summer.--Hub found a great TV console off craigslist that completes the family room look. Wires are put away.
--We spent an evening at the Blazer game and I have never seen hub look so much like a kid on Christmas! It was the last home game of the season and while I always have mixed thoughts about professional sports, the joy from hub was contagious and it was so great to see him so happy and enjoying himself---definitely made the evening a memorable and fun one! And now the Blazers are off to the play-offs.
--And now I'm off to honor a great mentor of mine: my undergrad college advisor who is retiring. Mr Gallegos inspired me beyond words, pushed me toward an achievable future, and never failed to supply me with letters of recommendation for all my many scholarship and grad school applications. He was almost always a joy to be around, was amazingly passionate about social justice, and created and upheld the social work department's objectives at all times. After his retirement party, I'm headed to dinner with my gal (also a grad from the program and my dear friend who is getting married this fall) to finally catch up some more and then off to listen to a Michael Pollan event hosted at my undergrad institution.
These are some of the perks of late, but there are many more wonderful moments as well. We both recognize that this period of time of less work, more play will probably be full of moments that we look back on with fondness as at some point more work and less play is likely to occur. But for now we'll relish these moments and continue to look forward to more happiness in the future.
1 comment:
It's nice to hear that everything is falling into place :)
It sounds like your home is in a great town, and happily near family again. Best wishes!
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