.Vanilla.

Literally, 12 hours ago, I was in a different zip code, area code, state abbreviation, and time zone. Traveling blows my mind. I spent ample time in an airport today....I watched people, couples, children, grandparents, hurried travelers, people my age, people on business and vacation...and there I sat--contemplating "home." I have always been bad at the leaving part in a trip...I'm great at the beginning and the middle but it's always the end that gets me--I think, mostly, because wherever I go family and friends are the focal point of why I've left my cozy little home in Manitowoc. I've been to Richmond many times but today was the first time in a while that I walked in the airport and had tears well in my eyes....these boys that I have had the honor of knowing and loving are growing up before my very eyes. Jack started school today. Charlie is walking and talking and identifying colors and numbers and shapes. These are fleeting moments that I don't have enough of and only last for 5-7 days at a time. Quality time, absolutely. Quantity...not so much.

So, as I sat among other passengers today, I pulled out the book I had been meaning to read for some 4 or 5 months now....The Happiness Project. It poses the age old question...."What makes you happy?......"  Happy. Now there is something I think everyone knows about. It seems like we are always awaiting the day that when someone else asks, "Are you happy?" You can emphatically, without a doubt, say with 100% certainty--why, yes I am. Often it is equated by someone else or validated by whatever it is that is important to you....but, just today, when I spent my time in 3 different states, I didn't find time to ask anyone else that....just myself. There definitely were people who didn't look very happy, overheard conversations expressing frustration over visa's to Cambodia or your mother-in-law taking the children ALL day or the mistakes that are made.....but there, in the hustle of the Cincinnatti airport, was a beautiful older couple. They were in my gate and I sat across from them....the gentleman was sitting there with his frozen custard and his wife was walking around to calm her nerves....he saw what I was reading and offered to me that, "Young lady, if there's anything you want to know about being happy, you can find it in a dish of ice cream." Of course, I knew he was right, we laughed a bit and I learned he was on his way to his granddaughter's wedding this coming weekend-he and his wife had never flown before and he added "Sometimes you just need to go for it--remember that too--that's a big part of being happy." Of course, he told me that after he suggested to his children that he drive all the way here from Fairfield, OH, and that was met with much disapproval--he said, "When you're my age you leave the risk taking to the younger generation."

His wife joined our conversation adding that part of being happy is giving yourself hints to avoid needless embarrassment--then she pointed to her cell phone with the phone number taped to the front...apparently she has been known to forget that. We talked for another 10 or so minutes until we would board and as I said goodbye and wished them well, the gentleman turned to me and said, "happiness is simple. don't think too much about it." I smiled and walked away as I heard the lady boarding zone 2...and that was me. I spent the whole trip home thinking about that...a man whose name I don't even know was quick to point out that I wouldn't learn to be more happy by reading a book or taking tips from the self-help section at Barnes and Noble. There isn't a checklist like I had always thought....no corporate ladder or amount of contacts in your phone....there isn't a prestigous friend or colleague...fame won't keep you company on a bad day....and certainly, all the times you had said 'no' because it didn't fit perfectly into your plans instead of saying 'yes' won't give you happy. Of course, there are events that will lead you there--a flawless 5 year plan--or so you think...and pivotal moments that will change you, shape you, define you, and hold you accountable. I think real happiness is the light in our hearts that we can still find after the worst days, the worst moments, and is still recognizable when we have been broken, hurt, and are unsure of where this journey will lead....and, as Jack will sing for you, "I've got the joy joy joy joy down in my heart, down in my heart, down in my heart..." 

All that being said, I think everyone hopes that their happiness is right around the corner...and while we are all mostly happy it is our nature to strive for more...to want better...and to dream bigger....when sometimes we just need to keep it simple. A dish of vanilla...chocolate syrup...and nuts....that was a wise man's recipe for "happy" and I don't think he was too far off.