Simple Gratitude

How about a laugh today? Are you up for it? Laugh now, just in case your team loses in tonight’s Super Bowl. No, this is not another commentary about the elites of football. Needing a laugh, given the world situation and the sadness of the Cowboys missing the Super Bowl (this is not about football), I asked the invisible, online masterminds to tell me about “what happened on this day in history.” That’s always good for a chuckle. And 2.4 second later I had a list of “today in history” and one of those entries seemed perfect for a smile or a laugh. The listing said “funny events in history for children.” Click, and there I was, already smiling into the new day, ready to burst out laughing.

Here’s what I found: in 1587, Mary Queen of Scots was beheaded. In 1672, Isaac Newton read his first optics paper at the Royal Society in London. In 1883, Louis Waterman began experiments that would result in the invention of the fountain pen. Maybe, I thought, if I got more current, I’d stop crying. I gave up after: in 1976, the movie “Taxi Driver” premiered in New York City. Now there’s a children’s movie.

All I wanted was a laugh. Under the circumstances, though, I’d settle for a smile. Having pushed away from my computer to wallow in my disappointment, it happened. I remembered that yesterday my son-in-law taped off a room that needs painting, then he applied the new color. I don’t climb tall ladders anymore. And I saw a specular sunset last evening. And I had a simple dinner with a few friends and we enjoyed each other’s company. And my Beloved told me: “I love you.” So, here I sit at 4:42 on this Sunday morning with a smile on my face and one in my heart. Gratitude seems to always produce joy. Simple gratitude.