Life’s Simple Pleasures

Even though I am a thirty something woman and a Mom to two kids and a wife to my Hubs, with a house to take care of and a job to keep me on my toes, there are times when I suddenly become that little girl who looked up to her Daddy and always found pleasures from simple things in life.

I remember my enthusiasm those days when my Dad comes home after a busy day at work. I would start dancing all around him with excitement. My Dad would roar with laughter and pick me up to whisper in my ears- “What did my little girl do today?” knowing full well that I am dying to untie the events of the day with him and I wouldn’t be at peace until I am done relating everything that had happened while he was away. Dad would settle down to have a cup of coffee, still holding me in his arms and I will happily snuggle up with him and start talking pure bliss.

I know that Dad would be very interested in knowing that I finished my breakfast that morning and that I did not waste one bit of food this time.

He would also like to know that I played nicely with the kids in our neighborhood without getting into any fist fights or tantrums (Yeah, I was a feisty little girl even back then)

I remember being proud in pointing it out to him that I took care of my little brother when he cried and gave him toys to calm him down.

I would not mention the fact that I became so impatient with him later on when he just wouldn’t stop crying because I took the toys back from him because it was all MINE. Ha!

My sweet Dad would listen to everything I say and  finally finish his coffee with great relish. What makes me really happy afterwards is the way he produces two dairy milk chocolate bars from his pocket with a flourish and presents one to me and one to my brother. God, how I miss those little chocolate bars even now…!

Source: Cadbury India

My Dad didn’t forget to bring these special Diary Milk chocolate bars from India when he visited me last two times… For some reason, the chocolate that I found here in Canada didn’t match the taste or flavor with the one that I used to enjoy having in India. Maybe the fond memories that I have about them over the years must have added tonnes of yumminess to the actual chocolate which it never had in the first place! Yes, go ahead and call me crazy!    

Fast forward to the present day, I come home after work and Kevin will be hovering at the door to greet me. The moment I get inside, he jumps to my arms and kiss my face with such fervor. I reciprocate in abundance and hold him close while wriggling out of my jacket and purse. These days, he has started asking me,

“Mommy, How was your day?” I say to him, “It was alright honey.  How was yours?”

That is his queue to launch into the day’s happenings that rocked his little world.

 He would tell me how much fun he had at the day care playing with his friends. He would say that the mud he played in got all over his cloths and he had fun walking around in dirty cloths until his teacher changed him. He would say that it was so much fun playing in the water tub and he never wanted to get out of it. So, when the teacher came and said ‘Time Up’, he just sat in the tub as if he didn’t hear her at all…

Krista would be keenly watching me all this time waiting for her chance to be picked up. I would get to her eventually while listening to Kevin’s chatter. She would cling to me at the moment of contact and express in her own way that she too missed me and that she too has stories to tell.

This is the point where I ALWAYS feel the déjà vu.

The moment where I get the glimpses of a little girl bouncing around her Dad with her chatter box wide open. I see Kevin and Krista sharing space with this girl and I wondrously realize that I could now see both worlds crystal clear- my past and my present.

These are the times I come face to face with this vibrant little girl in me whom I have known for years and whom I will never forget.  She is also the one who help me to remember the paths I have taken in life and the dreams I have yet to achieve. Though I am older than her now and have seen more of the world than her, she is still my Teacher and Guide in showing me the relevance of Life’s Simple Pleasures.

What do you consider as Life’s Simple Pleasures?

Does remembering them make you happy? Does it make you plough forward when the odds stack against you?