Demanding Joy

For some time now, I’ve been trying to make a habit of harvesting every little bit of joy in each day.  Some days I’m good at it, some days not so much.  It’s a habit still in the making.

This past week though, I was able to take some bits of joy to the next level.  I’ve had moments in time when I thought, “Right now, I could not be any happier.”

For example, I sat on my back steps and watched my brother teach my son how to swing a bat.  I had a glass of wine.  The weather was warm with a gentle breeze.  We had just eaten a nice dinner and Willis was doing the dishes.  Pinky was playing on the swing with my sister-in-law.  Everything in that moment was just exactly right and my spirit smiled.

On another night, G asked if we could write in his journal rather than read a story.  So we snuggled up under the covers.  He dictated and I wrote all about his day.  His t-ball game.  A helicopter he saw.  His new retainer.  All of the important items.  After the words were written, he illustrated.  I felt really close to him – it was a great moment.

The next day, I met Willis for lunch.  It felt like a stolen date in the middle of the day.  We talked about nothing in particular, but it was nice.  As he was explaining some technical problem he was having at work, I looked at his handsomeness.  My heart swelled and I thought, “At this moment, I could not be happier.”

These moments are fleeting of course.  The phone will ring, or a diaper will need changing or any of a gazillion other obligations will pop up.  But that’s OK because I am savoring these snippets of time.  I’m happy when I catch that green light in traffic or when I feel the soft coolness of my pillow at the end of the day, but these special moments go beyond happiness to joy.

It’s possible that these moments have been happening all along and I just wasn’t present enough to claim them and enjoy them.  Evidently practice makes perfect.