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Finding Contentment


I was telling a friend about some money concerns last week, and she told me that the years when her family had no money were her best childhood years.  It's like the people who refer to The Depression as the "good ol' days."  Priorities shift and you realize what is really important. 

I guess that got me thinking about the simple pleasures in my memories.  My best memories of our courtship  were the simple things...  eating chinese food while watching t.v., getting Slurpees, walking around downtown (that's where we met), and as I was driving through Denver on the way to a meeting this morning, I was reminded of one time when we had a picnic at Cheesman Park.  I got home this afternoon, and there was an air of lethargy in the house so I forced all my grumpy men into the car. We took some sandwiches and a blanket and went to Cheesman Park.  It was a warm January day but it is still January.  One child was shivering before we even had our food unwrapped, so we ate quickly.  Before we loaded back up in the car, we decided to take a little walk to the acropolis.  Pretty soon, we forgot all about being cold as we strolled through the park.  On our way along the path, we discovered a playground where BFJ had played as a child.  We sat on the see-saw, took some pictures - it was beautiful light.  Then I went over to the swing and swung.  And remembered what it was like to be a child.  And whooped on the way up, and my kids laughed, and swung, and my husband got to use the camera. 


And on the way back to the car, I remembered one of my best days as a child, when my dad was stationed at Fort Bragg, and my family went to the park by the officers' club and swung on the swings.  I remember the light, late afternoon like today's, and hope that this day will be in my kids' memories when they grow up.

Comments

  1. Great contentment! Wonderful fun! Lots of memories! Neat to see you so happy!

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  2. How fun! I love Steve's comment -- you are indeed Rich!!!

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  3. You look content and happy Karen. Sometimes the simplest things are what make us happy! Like growing plants and sewing... lol

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  4. I came out of an appointment last week and looked across a small field where a child was swinging as hard as his/her legs would pump. It was a warmer day than it has been in a while, but still required slight bundling-up, so I couldn't tell if it was a boy or girl. But I stood there for quite a while, remembering how it felt to pump the swing until I was almost as high as the top bar. Swinging was always one of my favorite things to do.

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  5. What a beautiful blog entry. Warms my heart on this very bitter cold winter day. Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts and memories. Loved it.

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  6. Love how all the things you mentioned cost very little money - all we need it some time, health and our family! For the fist 7 years of our marriage greg and i were poor students and our favorite thing to do was go to the bookstore and sit together for hours reading books while sipping hot chocolate. We have more money these days but no time to spend hours at the bookstore - we miss it a lot and look forward to the day when we can enjoy this simple pleasure again! You are indeed rich lady!

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  7. Tears....I LOVE YOU!!!

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  8. If you teach children to love the little things in life you ensure that they will never be poor.

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