Too many times in my life have I waited and waited for the "big day" to find happiness. I'll be happy if I can just graduate. I'll be happy if I can just get a job. I'll be happy if I just have a clean house.
Today I was driving home from the store. Dave Matthews Band was playing on the radio, the windows were down and I looked in the rearview mirror at a smiling May, reading her new Barbie book in the back seat. I thought to myself--this is it. This is pure happiness. This is what it's all about.
For me, it's the moment when the Keurig starts to gurgle, signaling a full fresh cup. It's the moment when Maylene says to me, "I knew you could do it, mom. My mama never gives up!" (talk about a heart melter). It's lying down in freshly clean sheets. It's feeling the grass under bare feet. It's the pains you get in your stomach from laughing too hard. For me, happiness is finding the pure, unadulterated beauty in the little moments. Looking back, it's easy to see. My hope is to recognize these moments more frequently and to bask in them for as long as I can. For, too often, I'm looking to the future instead of embracing what I have right now. And that, my friends, is a very full, good life.
