I’m the only one home this morning. Hubster took the girls to church, so I have the house to myself. It’s lonely, and yet refreshing after a couple of very busy days. I wore myself out Friday by volunteering for a few hours at the school carnival (it was extremely hot and I ended up hoofing it around the baseball and soccer fields for an hour taping up signs). Then yesterday after waking up rather late, I spent most of the day getting to, then watching, then returning from the show Riverdance, which we managed to snag last minute tickets to. Definitely worth the effort to go see, but watching all those lithe and athletic dancers do their thing has left me feeling like a roly-poly slug.
Still, that didn’t prevent me from sleeping in again this morning (Sunday mornings are the only time I get to spend alone with the Hubster… ahem) and from lingering over breakfast this morning. I had a quiet hour or two just eating my soft boiled eggs on toast, sipping tea, and reading the Sunday paper. Honestly, there isn’t much more I want out of Sunday morning than that. Just a little bit of quiet time and a good bite to eat while I catch up on what’s going on in the world.
And that is the key to contentment. The idea of contentment is that simple pleasures are the best pleasures in life. I used to demand a lot more out of life, expect more fun, more excitement, etc. And I spent a lot of time, effort and money pursuing those big pleasures. But those pleasures never lasted, and I usually felt used up and exhausted after I’d experienced them. These days, it’s a whole different game. These days, all it really takes to make me happy is a nice breakfast, some time to sit and read, a cup of tea, a quiet (or not-so-quiet) hour with the Hubster… You get the idea.
If you don’t have any simple pleasures, find them. Make them small and keep them small. Trust me, you’ll enjoy life a lot more if you do.
