Simple pleasures

Standing in the checkout line at our local grocery store this weekend, my daughter asked if she could buy a roll of lifesavers candy with part of her weekly allowance.  I told her she could and she made her purchase. 

Later that day I noticed her partial roll of lifesavers on the kitchen counter.  I picked up the candy and gazed at the brightly colored packaging.  There's just something nostalgic about a roll of Lifesavers.  It had been years since I'd bought a  roll and quickly popped one of the round candies into my mouth.

I'd forgotten just how good these things are, and as I savored the candy I had to chuckle at myself for just how much I was enjoying it.  I plopped down in my favorite overstuffed chair and closed my eyes, continuing to suck on the small round candy.  My mind drifted back to my childhood and I recalled what a special treat a roll of lifesavers was back then.  Money was tight when I was growing up and we didn't often get such treats.  My mind went from one memory to the next...

I thought of the time my little brother super-glued his toes together.  I recalled the many scrapes my older brother and I got into and how long it had been since we really talked.  I saw the faces of friends I hadn't seen in years, remembered my first real crush on a girl, and thought back to the many late night talks my mom and I used to have.  I crunched the last of the lifesaver and swallowed.  As I laid my head back into the soft chair I realized I was smiling.  It's funny, I thought, how something as simple as a piece of candy could be so strangely satisfying.

For the rest of that day my mind was occupied with thoughts of simple pleasures.  Those things which we often overlook or deny ourselves; reading a good book, taking a walk by ourselves, playing in a pile of freshly fallen leaves, holding hands, watching the summer sky for falling stars, writing a letter to a friend, stopping to enjoy a sunset, taking in the smells after a rainstorm, cuddling by the fire, watching birds play in the morning sun... 

How easy it is to let slip by some of the most basic pleasures life has to offer.  But how simple it is to again find them.  Perhaps all it takes is a roll of lifesavers and a few minutes of quiet contemplation.