Simple Pleasures

Sometimes—most times, in fact—the simple things bring the most joy.

Late last night our family returned from a long weekend in New York City.  We’d never been before, and we had a blast seeing the sights, exploring Central Park, Times Square, the Met and Liberty Island.  We ate at fabulous restaurants and took in a Broadway show.  Our kids loved it and so did JP and I.  Bu all the fun we had in New York doesn’t compare to the joy I felt this afternoon.

What was so special about today that surpassed a trip to the Big Apple?

Nothing much, except when I left our home to go to the grocery store (family trip = no food in the fridge) the house was filled with my teenagers and their friends, all sitting around our kitchen island, laughing and talking.  Seriously, my heart could have burst with happiness at the sight of it all.

After filling my grocery cart to the brim, I noticed an older woman standing behind me, her small cart filled with groceries just enough for one.  I smiled and apologized for how long my purchase was taking.  “My kids are all home this summer” I tried to explain.

She gave me a warm, knowing look. “And you wouldn’t change it for anything, would you?”

No.  I wouldn’t.  Not in a million years.

But I’m a realist though.  I know it won’t stay like this forever.  Someday, I’ll be the woman with the tiny cart, with food for one.  Already I’m not the young mom with pre-school age kids anymore, and haven’t been for quite some time.

But will I have a life filled with storehouses of treasured memories?  Will I be a woman who enjoyed every season and every stage of life?  Will I be surrounded by people who love me and, more important, whom I love?

I hope so.

I know this: One of the reasons I appreciate the simple pleasure of having the house filled is because our son just returned home after living abroad for the past year.  And one of the reasons I appreciate a full cart of groceries is that in our early years of marriage our financial situation made what has now become commonplace, an impossibility.  In other words, it has taken lack for me to appreciate gain.

But I’ve wised up over the years.  I don’t want to wait to appreciate a season of life—whatever that may be—until it’s over.  I’m pausing long enough now to breathe in the simple pleasures of daily life.