Recipe for Happiness - may 10, 2012

There are days when I wish I didn't live here. Overzealous parents are rallying at my daughter's elementary school to oust the new principal, my husband and I commute in opposite directions and rely on the slowest transit network in the nation, and I just received another $65 parking ticket because I forgot to put a quarter in the meter. Really?

But outside my window, the western avenues of my city unfold down to the beach and then the water, meeting the ocean at North America's edge. And when I shepherd my children down the back stairs to pick this spring's first roses, hope returns. The sun warms my neck, as plastic toys clatter on patio stones amidst complaints of thorns, and I know that I am the luckiest woman in the world. Here we are, living in the best place on earth.

Happiness

1 self

loved ones (optional ingredient, try it with or without)

1 garden

sunshine

After the dew has dried and the air is warm, spend a little time sitting down and settling in to your chosen garden, any garden. Let the sun warm your body and the flowers please your heart. Look for butterflies, watch the bugs, listen to the birds.

Comments

I adore this! Thanks mama for posting! The photo of your people is perfect and makes me feel happy:)

Heather, that is a delightful bouquet, and an even lovelier photo of your family :)

Oh dear, I think you snapped that photo right after I took a sip of that glass of wine :-)