So,tell me--what rocks your world?

… at times we all tend to forget that there are things in this world that we still can enjoy.
~Shevek

On September 14th, Shevek took the time to post at TCF his observations from a day of work in the woods. It is the loveliest essay, titled The Smell of Autumn. In his usual, eloquent fashion, Shevek described the sights, sounds and smells of his local forest, as he took care of putting away firewood for the winter.

Like Shevek stated, I tend to forget to look for the upbeat side of daily living. Compressed between the vice grips of national degradation and personal frustration, my mindset automatically drifts toward woe. The few moments I spent walking among Shevek’s trees, watching Mr. Chipmunk chatter at him, feeling the crispness of the afternoon breeze against my cheek and smelling the loamy odor of the forest soil reminded me that I do not have to go through life on autopilot; I can readjust my attitude and take the time to remember the things in life that make it worth living.

The rest of the week, I spent time every day trying to fine-tune my countenance. I discovered something pretty amazing. My family, often the source of my largest personal frustrations, also gives me the greatest joy. These individuals help my world to be a place that is enjoyable.

My daughter, Rosie, got a coupon for a free ice cream cone at the Marnier’s game she attended on September 9th. For a week she’d intone, “Mom, can we go to Dairy Queen to get my ice cream?” Our trips around town were totally rush-mode, so I’d tell her no, or even worse “we’ll see” (which we all know means “no”). On Friday, I thought about her coupon and how patient she’d been, waiting for me to make time to take her for a cone. We went to DQ that afternoon. She had change in her pocket and wanted to buy me an ice cream. I told her to save her money, that I was fine, but Rosie persisted. “I want to do this for you, Mom,” she said. That was probably the best ice cream I’ve ever eaten.

I had the opportunity to speak with one of Tee’s football coaches last week. Mr. E. took the time to tell me what a good boy Tee is, stressing his friendly, polite personality and hard work on the field. I divulged to Mr. E. how much fun Tee has playing football; he said it showed. “He hits hard, and he likes it,” Mr. E. said. I also noticed that Tee told me thank you for picking his buddies and him up at the football field every day. How cool is that?

In a few weeks, my stepson, Zander, will be attending his first homecoming dance. He’s pretty jazzed about it. Since he’s been so conscientious about holding down a job and managing his finances, we’re going to kick in some money to help offset the dance expenses. The day after my husband, Lew, told him that we’d help him out, Zander came home from work excited that he’d been able to pick up some extra hours. He wants to insure he can take care of his part of the date expenditures and his bills. My heart swelled with pride—he’s getting it!

My better half, Lew, took me to a party Saturday night. He is much prettier than I am, so I decided to change it up a bit and wear a dress to the party. This way, I might be almost as pretty as he is. When I walked into the kitchen, on our way out, Rosie, Tee and Zander started laughing. Tee and Zander thought my dress looked funny; Rosie said she thought the dress was okay, even though she’d NEVER wear something like that. Her vote was to ditch the pale, blue cardigan I paired up with my brown and blue paisley dress. Lew looked so handsome in his charcoal dress shirt and black jeans; after the kids’ reactions, I wanted to change immediately. I was convinced I’d never measure up. He reminded me that kids can be little buttheads sometimes, and really, it didn’t matter what they thought. His assurance left me feeling extraordinarily sexy…

None of these little vignettes are earth shattering, but they generated lots of tremendous happiness. If I hadn’t been consciously looking for them, the moments could have dissolved into my usual funk, induced by the negative impulses that assault us all. I offer my thanks to Shevek, because if he hadn’t taken the time to share The Smells of Autumn, those precious memories probably would have slipped by, unnoticed. My modest chunk of the planet is better off because I noticed some positive, cool stuff.

What things shake up your piece of the globe ? Is it the smell of peppermint tea? Maybe it is the feeling of puppy fur under your fingertips. How about the meadow behind your house, lit up with the colors of the rainbow when the flowers pop up in the spring? Does that make you grin? Would you please take a moment to think about my question, and if you feel like sharing, take time to post your cool phenomenon in the comments section?