souldare

And how blessed all those in whom you live, whose lives become roads you travel.

They wind through lonesome valleys, come upon brooks, discover cool springs and pools brimming with rain!

God-traveled, these roads curve up the mountain, and at the last turn—Zion! 

God in full view!

(Psalm 84:5-7The Message)

Happiness often sneaks in a door that you didn’t know you left open. (John Barrymore)

Where do you find happiness? Does it have to be a sunny day or will a rainy day do? Can it be a noisy spot or a quiet cove? Do you need crowds or solitude? Do you find happiness or does it find you?

On Friday night, I wasn’t happy. Les had to work late. I didn’t feel like cooking and it looked like rain would keep us closed inside for the night. I was making escape plans.

To be happy, I thought I’d go get a nice air conditioned hotel room with cable TV and room service. I had to go into Orlando on Saturday afternoon for work training, and Les was going to be working on a project over the weekend. So why not? Maybe I’d just go see Mickey Mouse, that would make me happy, right?

While all those things could have made me happy, I decided to stay put. I vented to Les, which often helps me regain perspective. I appreciated his willingness to be a sounding board. He didn’t dismiss my ideas, nor did he stop me from my plans. 

More than escape, I wanted neither of us to have work obligations. But we did. To ease some of our stress, I drove to the little pizza shop nearby to get our dinner. I was able to special order one pizza with two different halfs. I watched the sunset, while I waited for the pizza. And the rain actually cooled things off for the rest of the evening.



On Saturday morning, the cooler temperature inspired me to get out the Omnia stove top oven. We ordered it, after hearing about it from another boater. I baked a gingerbread snack cake for our breakfast. 

This morning, I left early to check out the local flea market. It was overcast and rained a little, but it didn’t bother me, I was in my happy place. Searching for treasure in the various stalls and people watching was exactly what I needed today. 

I found the book stall, and bought a mystery I wanted to read. Some other stowaways jumped into my bag to bring home. I’ll have to introduce them in another post. 

At the produce section, I bought a bunch of bananas, a lemon and a lime and two cucumbers. I found some potential souvenirs and gifts for family and friends back home. 

Finding bargains and hunting for treasures makes me happy. I came home by lunchtime, ate my leftover pizza, and shared my finds with Les. By then the sun was back, so I went to the beach to read.