ORDINARY MOMENTS

We wait for Christmas and some even wait for it to be over. Then there is that tremendous disappointment or even letdown when it is over.

Why is it we have such difficulty embracing the ordinary moments that come and go virtually unnoticed? A Sunday like today.....jammies till noon...fragrant lavendar scones with blueberries and white chocolate chips and a mug of hot Latin Amerian coffee....snuggling in a red hand crocheted blanket my daughter made me for Christmas....cleaning off the top of my desk in preparation for a new week, new year....doing laundry with lavendar scented soap...watching my dogs roll around on their backs in the grass under a vibrant clear blue sky grateful for the moment...thoughts that make me smile softly of a friend far away....taking a deep breath and being grateful for simply being alive.

The loss of a dear friend on Thursday brought it all too close. Why do we postpone enjoying the small fleeting pleasures that pass our way and are ours for the taking? Sometimes something as simple as not losing my car keys is a special moment, a bubble bath, or reading a book start to finish curled up with Gracie's head on my lap, and realizing that this is the moment...the only moment we have for certain.

Sometimes we take these moments for granted and don't even think of them. Yesterday at the Warrior Family Support Center, the day after Christmas, I made 50 + omelets for our wounded warriors and their families, while other volunteers made 'good ole' biscuits and sausage gravy, pancakes, burritos and scrambled eggs and hashbrowns.

Many of our soldiers were in wheel chairs, some with the all too recognizable look of PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), and some with little kids cranky and hungry. But all of them (without exception) were grateful. They would go into the dining room after filling their plates and soon they would find their way back to the kitchen, full of the smells of breakfast and home, to say thank you! No one prompted them, no one forced them, they were simply thankful.

For me, hearing 'thank you' was instant joy, an unexpected effervescence. These moments are way beyond the alarm going off at 5:00 am and driving 45 minutes to cook breakfast.

Sometimes we just have to 'put up' with 'stuff' to find those things that shower us with joy and bring us peace.

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"Feeling blue is never an excuse for passing on a chance to feel joy!"

~Veronique Vienne~