Musician's Widow

Writing prompt today from Daily Challenge by Me You Health: Share 3 small things that made you happy when you were a child or teenager.Think back to your childhood or teen years and share three little things that made you ridiculously happy. Was it making a phone call to a favorite aunt or uncle you didn’t talk to often? A food that knocked your socks off the first time you tasted it? A memorable trip to a museum? If it brought a grin to your young face, it belongs on the list. *I’m currently on a “Finding Fulfillment” track on Daily Challenge (a site that gives you a daily challenge to promote everyday well-being).

Childhood… when things are simpler and you’re clueless to how amazing the simplicity is. This prompt has left me filing through memories for a long time, trying to choose the best answers to share.

Books. I wish I read even half as much as I did as a kid. I devoured books like they were candy. And even long after I could read, Mom would read to me before sleep. No matter how sleepy she was, she’d read to me. As I got older, we transitioned to chapter books. I still remember when she read Where the Red Fern Grows and even my brother would come and listen as she’d read a chapter or two. Treasured, treasured memories.

Playing until dark. I can’t imagine spending all my summer in front of a TV playing video games or on the computer playing computer games. I remember playing outside until dark, and still not wanting to go inside. Swinging on the swings. Playing make-believe games, writing stories in my head as I went along. Playing basketball or any number of made-up games with my brother. Oh the carefree feeling of playing for hours on end!

Hotel stays. Call me silly, but I hardly remember trips to Six Flags, etc. It’s the hotel stays that I remember! Even though I really couldn’t swim, I looked forward to a hotel pool every summer. I wanted to jump in the pool the minute we checked in, and I think I’d have stayed in the water until the pool closed, if could have. We didn’t have cable when I was a kid. I grew up with CBS, ABC, NBC, PBS and (eventually) FOX. Sometimes when people my age talk about shows they liked as a kid, they receive a blank stare from me because I didn’t get the stations they got. However, any time we went on vacation and stayed in a hotel, I’d fight sleep to watch Nick-at-Night. Mr. Ed, The Patty Duke Show, and The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis are favorites of mine to this day because of those nights at a hotel.

I could list countless more memories that make me smile! This is so much fun! Definitely brought a smile to my face.

What about you… what are three of YOUR happy memories?

Oh Wilson County Fair, how I look forward to you every year. We missed you last year, and for that I am sorry. But we came out last night, as you treated us so very good.

The Wilson County Fair, in Lebanon, TN, is one of the best fairs I’ve ever been to in my life. They just have it figured out! Great selection of food. Tons of rides. A free concert. A petting zoo. And pig races. In the past they’ve had a banana derby (Monkeys riding dogs!!) but they were sadly absent this year.

My husband and I attended this year with a big group of friends, which just seemed to up the fun factor. Nothing like sharing a ferris wheel pod with another couple that you know, or sharing your various deep fried goodies. (And let it be known, everything tastes better “on a stick.”)

I literally turn into a 10 year old the days leading up to attending the fair. I actually had an upset tummy out of sheer excitement yesterday morning! Then I joked I’d end up with a sick stomach from eating things like chocolate covered bacon, deep friend strawberry short cake and deep fried cookie dough. I think I drank my weight in fresh shaken lemonade and sweet tea mix!

John Anderson was the headliner for the night at the free concert. I’d never seen him live, and it wasn’t high on my list of things to do at the fair. (So many rides, so much food, so little time!) But I am glad my husband insisted… he was GREAT! And I have to admit, when he sang “Swingin’” I got super excited and gave my parents a concert call.

Ah… so good to see these pure country artists getting a lot of love from a big crowd. Makes my country-lovin’-music-business-livin’ heart proud.

We ended the night with a little more fair food, and lots of big hugs with friends. We had an amazing time, and we’re trying to figure out if we can fit another trip out there before it ends this year. I hope we can, but if not? My heart is full of joy from the night. And I can almost (almost) feel Fall starting to make its way to us.

Ever have one of those days when everything just seems good and positive?

I’m having one today.

I mean, not even a way-too-close-near-fender-bender could rile me up today! Not even noticing my yard is the worst yard in the neighborhood and needs to be mowed desperately could get me down. Heck, not even the express lane being farrrr from express at Kroger could upset me.

I just have a perma-smile going on, and I’m loving it!

This little part of me wants to go, “Uh oh. What’s going to go wrong around the corner? This can’t last…” but I keep squashing that down hard. Like a really ugly, awful, poisonous bug. Because I want to enjoy this.

Today is a day when I feel with deep certainty I am on the path I am meant to be on in life. There have just been the tiniest of signs all day that make me go, “Yup. This is right.” And as a result, there is this spring in my step and a smile that won’t stop. I feel carefree giggles want to bubble up from my gut of just joy of life.

As a result, I find people responding positively to me. I went to the liquor store for a bottle of wine for myself. As I left I smiled and told the owner (who was sitting at a table offering out samples since you can do that now in Tennessee), “Thanks! Have a great day!” and he stared at me in shock for a moment. Then responded with a smile and equally happy, “You too!!” The teller at the bank was warm and bubbly back to me with a, “Have a great weekend!” And at Target, I chatted up a particularly sullen looking cashier until she smiled back before I left.

A friend has in her Twitter profile, “When you love life, life loves you back.” And today that was reflected back to me ten fold, everywhere I went.

Oh sure… that little voice keeps going, “Day is not over yet…” as the little Devil that lives on my shoulder tries to bring me down. Tries to turn me from my positive outlook. Instead, I’m looking at it with a bright smile and responding back, “Shut up.” I’m riding this ride of positive things…

Wishing everyone a great weekend!!! Remember to smile… you never know whose day you might brighten with it.

When I was in elementary school, we’d get to occasionally go to the high school pep rally’s during football season. I’d stare in awe at the “flag girls.” I wanted to be one of them when I got into high school.

And I was.

That’s me in the front. I was in flags for two years… could have been three years if I hadn’t over-stressed about how bad I wanted it (life was seriously GOING TO END if I didn’t make it) and pretty much sabotaged myself in tryouts as a freshman-going-into-sophomore-year. But, hey, HUGE lesson learned, and it made me appreciate being in flags my junior and senior year even more.

I. Loved. It. I literally felt SO alive when I was out there performing, flag in hand. And I was GOOD at it. I was even almost (ALMOST) recruited to go to Baylor University as a flag… but when I said they’d have to pay my way to go to Baylor, I never heard back from them. (Because, yeah, you’d literally have to pay me to go there. Sorry.) So after my last parade my senior year, I hung up my flag and never pulled it back out.

I confess, I kept a flag after graduation. I felt guilty about it until I heard the next year they got all new flags and poles. Then I wished I’d snagged a couple more as keepsakes. ;)

My flag has been in a box, and my poll… well… it made moving clothing from one place to another easy. Hang it from a couple bungee cords in the UHaul, and you have a make-shift rod for hanging clothes.

But still… when I see a parade, or if I got to a high school football game, my eyes continue to gravitate to the flags. In college, as people around me would poke fun at the twirlers and flags in the other band at half-time (since at TAMU we have a military band and, as such, no flags or twirlers… and Aggies can be kinda cruel to other bands because of that), I would still stare somewhat wistfully, remembering my days with a flag in my hand.

I hear a song on the radio that we did routines to, and I find myself trying to remember how our routine went. Or I hear a new release that is just ripe for a performance, and I find myself writing a routine in my head. I guess you can take the girl out of flags, but never take the passion for it out of the girl.

I’m on an extra-big health kick right now, spurred by my recent (and on-going) fight with sinuses. I force myself to work-out every day, and since its been cold outside, that exercise has been in my little office dancing around to music. Today, though, the sun was shining and the temperatures hit the mid-70s. I went outside, and I found myself digging around in the garage.

I found my flag poll. I found my flag. I couldn’t resist. I went outside to play.

It took a few minutes, but slowly my favorite moves came back to me. A few fundamentals I had to really think about. But before I knew it, though, my posture was straight. My eyes were up like they were looking at a press box. And I found myself pushing myself to be as graceful and fluid as possible in my moves, all with snapping the stops perfectly. I found I could even remember the tosses, though the catches were a LITTLE shakier than I like.

I literally laughed out loud at one point. I hadn’t done this is 12 years!! And I found myself loving it just as much as I did back then!

I foresee this becoming a regular thing in my exercise routine. It certainly works your upper body! And just the joy I pulled from it… that’s the best medicine of anything.

Do you have an old passion you’ve left behind? Have you considered picking it back up?

Yesterday, I took the picture on the right and posted it on Twitter with the caption that these are three things that bring me joy: My husband, coffee and Texas A&M University.

I think asked my followers for three things that make them happy. I only got a few responses, but they were all great!

They were:

SadieCass
@niseag03 My camera, my characters (writing), my family. #joy

AggieAnne04
@niseag03 Max, Chris, and leaves on the trees again. :)

AllyInLA
@niseag03 Cupcakes. My dog. And vacations.

LOVE all of those answers!

As I finished my work day, I kept chewing on my own answer. Things that bring me joy. Just thinking about it brought me joy!!

So I have to share even more things that bring me joy… I can never list ALL the things, but I can sure as heck list more than three!

65 Things that Bring me Joy (In no particular order and certainly not a complete list!)

1. My husband
2. Coffee
3. Texas A&M
4. My parents
5. All of my family
6. My nephew’s determination
7. That message I saved on my phone where my niece says she loves me
8. Dr. Pepper
9. Texas
10. Nashville
11. Music
12. Sunshine
13. My cat
14. God
15. Rainfall
16. Cooking
17. Writing
18. Photography
19. My friends
20. Babies
21. Weddings
22. Pedicures
23. Fields
24. Lakes
25. Taking a drive in the country
26. Facebook
27. Laughter
28. Seeing others find their joy
29. Page design
30. Pasta
31. Beer
32. The Grand Ole Opry
33. My life
34. Flying
35. Cameron Yoemen
36. Peanut Butter
37. Chocolate
38. Twitter
39. Holidays
40. Reading
41. Helping others
42. A job well done
43. History
44. My truck
45. My degree
46. Pizza
47. Aggie Muster
48. Words With Friends
49. Bluebonnets
50. Sushi
51. Toe socks
52. Blogging
53. Cookies
54. Being responsible
55. My cowboy boots
56. Snow
57. Barbecue
58. My wedding ring
59. Printer’s Alley
60. Getting a letter in the mail
61. Flowers
62. Concerts
63. Aggieland
64. Red roses
65. Love

Now it’s your turn… what are some of the things that bring YOU joy.