Enjoying simple pleasures

Saw this clip of the 100th episode of The CW series 'Legends of Tomorrow' where they were celebrating all sorts of occasions. Then the last sequence was a karaoke number of "Love Will Keep Us Together."

And the song made me smile, sing along, and do a YouTube search for a video of original singer Captain and Tennille. And I sang along again... As bonus, the next track was "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" by Elton John and Kiki Dee.

Two feel-good songs that I can sing along to, and even move along to (don't you just love music from the 70s and 80s?) and my day is made.

But wait! There's another happy moment that I shouldn't forget. It's so simple that most people would probably dismiss it. But it was a big deal for me (and my niece).

We went to hear the 12 noon mass, and on the way home, we saw The Ice Cream Man pushing his cart along the street we happened to pass. Yessss!

We've been pining for dirty ice cream for a long time. Since the pandemic, with all the lockdowns, these hardworking men have all but disappeared. Who can blame them? Their customers are people on the streets. With schools and offices mostly continuing online, there was no one to sell ice cream to.

In the three days I spent with my aunt, one happened to come along, and I did buy some. In a glass, not on a cone. But that's not the thing. I just wasn't satisfied with his ice cream. The flavors available were chocolate, cheese, and mango. I think I paid 30 pesos.

But...

I wasn't satisfied. It was just sugar rush. Unlike before when you could really taste bits of the ice cream flavor. So if it was cheese, there would be cheese bits and a little saltiness. Mango, too. So, I was still on the lookout for a good sorbetero (ice cream vendor). Niece was craving, too.

Thank God for street humps! We had to slow down and negotiate the hump and that's when niece saw it. Mamang Sorbetero! Thinking back, it was a good thing there was no car behind us when I slowed down and honked my horn to signal that we wanted to buy.

I pulled over and waited for the ice cream man to cross the street and park. Niece stepped out to do the buying. I wanted the waffle cone. He only had one size - large. No problem. Flavors? Mango, cheese, and avocado. Yesss! My favorites are cheese and avocado.

Niece looked incredulous when she signaled that each cone cost 50 pesos. Goodness! Inflation hit ice cream, too. What the heck! It's a craving and it must be satisfied. It is summer. And the days are unbearably hot. So ice cream we must have, even before we have lunch.

Just didn't realize how filling it would be. And remember, it is sweet. We sat inside the car to finish the treat. We sat for maybe 5 to 10 minutes, chit-chatting in between licking the rapidly melting ice cream. Yes, it was that hot.

So, what's the verdict?

This one was way better! There were still a few cheese bits. I could taste avocado. And it wasn't as cloyingly sweet as the one at my aunt's house. Besides, I had that aaaahhhh feeling as I licked my cone. So, somehow it was satisfying.

We drove off, but niece was still eating hers. It was pretty big... And she commented that there was just something about dirty ice cream that was far different from store-bought ice cream that come in tubs.

Simple pleasures. I miss that. While staying home is something I am totally okay with - even for long stretches of time - there are just things outside that can make you feel joy.

One that comes to mind (other than dirty ice cream) is the smell of freshly-cut grass. Yep. When I used to do morning or afternoon walks, I just loved the smell of grass that's been cut as I pass by.

Actually, I have very strong olfactory senses. My nose can pick up scents, good or bad, even from afar. So even before I can see that patch of land where grass has been chopped, I already know it's there because the smell just wafts towards me.

I wouldn't mind seeing a field of daffodils in real life, and it would make my heart sing. But since they don't grow in my neck of the woods, any place where there are flowers is fine by me.

My point being it doesn't take much to feel happy. I've learned that the simpler our desires, the more joy it brings. But don't think the simple ones come easy because they do not. Look at our search for dirty ice cream. Or walking by an area where they just cut grass. It's summer and grass rarely grows enough to need cutting.

So, listening to music that's catchy is substitute for those missed simple moments of pleasure that only the outdoors can bring.

Oh yeah, a good book (a real one that you flip one page at a time) is simple pleasure, too. And I can read whether in bed, on the sofa, somewhere grassy, or under a tree. Let me disabuse those who think using an e-reader gives the same feeling. It does not.

Find simple pleasures... enjoy them as if they were something grand. That's living life.

Lead image is an original photo