The thread about greatest moment of your life got me thinking about random moments of happiness that one can feel with clarity years after their occurrence. Here are some of mine:

Waking up in my old room after returning from the mission, being so glad to be home with no demands or expectations on my time and looking forward to the next stage of my life, feeling somewhat in control after two years of being told what to do 24/7 and having to report to my MP weekly. Looking back though, I have to wonder why I was so anxious to get immediately back into school, etc. I definitely could have prolonged that interim stage of my life and really enjoyed being with my parents and little brother for a while.

Later in life, I spent an enlistment in the Army. I remember vividly stepping off the plane in Hawaii after a deployment in Korea, feeling the warmth of the tropical sun and smelling the sweet scent of the air. It was incredible. What happiness to experience that and to see my little family again.

Over the years, two of my favorite moments were getting hired and then finally retiring from my career employment. Fortunately I don’t have to worry about spending extra time and $$$$ in TSCC as a retiree in endless callings or doing a senior mission, because I resigned years ago. I really dodged a bullet there, didn’t I?

Cuz X



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/01/2019 02:41PM by cuzx.

Good for you. Nice post!

Now I'm thinking . . .

After my husband left me, I remember looking at my dear dog and thinking he was a "small miracle" in my life that made life worth living. My dogs still carry me through. I NEVER could have imagined this part of my life.

So many memories popping up in my mind now that I would want to think a while before I post any more so I get the right ones!!!

I cannot even begin to imagine serving a mission, so being home in your bed must have been unimaginable.

A few weeks ago, I sat in my yard holding my dog with the sun and on us and there was a gentle breeze, and listening to the birds and the trees gently swaying, the combo of just enough warmth from the sun and the breeze and my dog with her eyes half closed just taking it all in, it was a brief moment of perfection. It is the small moments that can bring fleeting happiness.

When I was young, I had a really nice aunt who cooked me pork chops that were very over cooked. Then, my new wife cooked me shoe leather pork chops. Ah, just like aunt Liz used to make. It made me happy to think of her after all these years.

Thanks for that, it reminded me of so many moments in my life

that still make me so happy just to think of them.

Post-Mormon Happiness is wearing shorty shorts and a tank top t-shirt while drinking an ice-cold beer at Hooters after eating a salad and some enhanced gummies staring at immodest wait staff and contemplating the price you will demand for your soul when you next run into Lucifer.

1. Riding up the canyon on my horse after school and Saturday afternoons.

2. Planting zinnias and turning to find my little dog ate them as I planted. Zinnias! What a little pig of an angel.

3. Will never ever tell. Ever.

You just described a perfect Sunday.

I once took $1,000 out of a stash, strapped on small 9mm in an SOB holster and went to meet a new friend. For some reason, the first two acts seemed logical necessities.

It was completely spontaneous; wacky even! Afterward, I ended up shopping with some other friends and bought a rain jacket for $250. That was years ago and I still have the pistol, the jacket, and the friend.

I've never done anything like that before or since. When I think about it, I blush.

Colorful indeed and every word is true. But thats all I'll say about it.

a spontaneous trip to the east coast with my youngest daughter. We had no plan, except I made hotel reservations and rented a car. We stayed up as late as we wanted, eating m&ms and chips. We woke up when we wanted and toured the east in the fall. Such a fun memory!

Today when I saw little Jack Finney had slipped out the front door and was trotting his way up a busy street to the dog park. I called him, and he turned around and came back. I was never so happy to hold him tightly.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/02/2019 01:57AM by kathleen.

Your post stopped my heart. The worst nightmares I have are the ones where my dog gets out and we can't get her to come back and then gets into the street or something. They are hell. Way worse than the devil nightmares or the back on the mission dreams. I'll take those any day.

So glad Jack came back. That is happiness.

And I'm glad kathleen's dog came back, too. I've scared my dogs so bad that my littlest, Marco, when I get upset on our walks, he takes off running for home or the car if he can get out of his harness. It has happened twice. Luckily, nothing has happened. When I first got them, Winston would get out under the fence and my last dog escaped under my boyfriend's fence and was gone over an hour. I about lost it. Boyfriend and "husband" both left work to come and help me find him. He just wandered back UNDER THE FENCE.

BUT last fall when I went to my boyfriend's son's wedding, which I did not want to go to, I had one of the most wonderful times of my life. Up high there in the mountains of Colorado with the guy I dreamed would someday come back for me at his son's Jewish wedding, dressed UP like I haven't dressed up in years. It was one of the best times of my life.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/02/2019 08:59PM by cl2.

“Marco” and “Winston” ! I love those names ! :D

I like this thread, "Random happiness."

This kind of happiness hits us unexpectedly, and, as in the posters' examples, often is tacked onto the end of something stressful, as a sort of relief.

A few Christmas Eve's ago, some fireworks frightened my dog, and she dug her way out of the yard. I usually am alone after dinner on Christmas Eve, while my married children spend time with their in-laws. Having a dog run away is worrisome, and I had a lot of Christmas preparations to do, and I was not happy. I had the car windows rolled down, and was calling and whistling. The air was still and cold, Christmas lights were twinkling on the houses, and the mountains glowed white with snow. The whole scene became magical. I found my dog, trotting over to her doggie friend's house, and she jumped into the car, and we drove around the neighborhood, before going back home and back to work--filled with the Christmas spirit and dog treats.

This started a new Christmas Eve tradition, of taking a break from all the last-minute rushing around, and going for a quiet, solitary walk with my dog to see the Christmas lights, and ponder those small but important joys in life.