“Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens…”
The song, My Favorite Things, from the beautiful movie The Sound of Music, is, all by itself, one of my favorite things. That song pops into my head almost every day, and sometimes I sing it out loud. It’s been that way for many decades, and I expect it will be in my head many more decades. It always makes me smile.
One of my favorite things is camping. My husband and I just had our first camping trip of the season. It had been an especially hard week for us, with some health issues, and just life issues. We were grateful to be able to escape to the woods for some personal respite.
During that time, we talked about all the stuff going on, and I embarked on a personal journey to identify, for me, what the things are that always make me smile. Yes, raindrops on roses, whiskers on kittens, bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens… Okay, I won’t recite the whole song, but instead I’ll share my own.
Since I was very young, I’ve always enjoyed a campfire, or a bonfire, as was usually what happened at my childhood home. There is something magical and relaxing about staring into a fire. To watch the smoke find its way through pieces of wood that are each different from each other.
Another ear-to-ear smile will always happen for me when I notice a truck that has mud all over it. I like to imagine what adventure they went on to earn those muddy stripes.
The sound of a baseball game on the radio is music to my ears. Preferably it’s a Tiger’s game, but the sounds of baseball are universally joyful to me.
While Covid-19 has changed all of us in some ways, there have always been challenges in our lives, and there always will be. Sometimes just annoyances, and sometimes very difficult things we must walk through. Sometimes fear gets in our way.
While ‘my favorite things’ may seem trite while we’re experiencing the toughest situations, every little bit of joy we find can give us strength.
We are having our first in-person gathering with 100 of our favorite senior volunteers very soon. We cannot wait to see everyone. As much as my team and I are excited to see everyone, I’m mostly looking forward to watching them see each other for the first time in two and a half years. It is going to be an emotional day for sure, but the anticipation of the joy of that togetherness is indescribable.
Many of these volunteers have experienced extreme loss during this time. Since my time of employment with Region IV Area Agency on Aging, the volunteers who serve in our community have brought more joy to me than I could possibly have imagined. Their grateful spirits and never-ending generosity humble me daily.
When we finally get together, we’re going to talk about the tough things they’ve experienced over the last couple years, and we’re going to talk a lot about the joy we found amidst it. We’re going to ask them to put to paper, in pictures and in words, the moments of joy they have experienced.
What makes you smile? You just thought of something, right?
“Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes, snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes”.
Make a list if you need to. I would love to hear from anyone who wants to share what always makes them smile.