Appreciation

I was sitting in the car after a stressful day waiting to go into an appointment.  I was thinking of how crappy my day was and how tired I was and how I did not want to go in.  I was just sitting there, feeling down.

As I listened to some music I took a glance out my rear view mirror.  There was a child, a girl, probably around ten years old in a wheel chair.  It was a sunny day and the girl’s mom was feeding her a snack, since she could not do it herself.  They were laughing together and every time she fed her a bite of her snack, they laughed again.  It was touching to watch.

They had no idea anyone was watching.  They were in their own world — happy and content with each other.  Nothing else mattered.  I started to think, “Wow, they are so happy,”  Why?

Here I was thinking about my rotten day and of all the things I didn’t have that could make my life better.  Then I thought to myself, “why can’t I be content and satisfied?” — for the moment, for the sun, just for just being alive, for being a mom, for being a wife?  It made me really think about the simple things and how I needed to be grateful for them.

Happiness does not need to be complicated.  Sometimes, it’s just a brief moment in a day.  On that particular day, that Mom and daughter gave me a gift that they will probably never know about, but one for which I am grateful.

We need to appreciate the moments — all of them.  And we need to always be grateful for what we have and the people we have to share it with.  This is what truly matters in life.