relishing joyful moments

On my drive home from work earlier this week, as I entered my neighborhood, I saw a big, white, fluffy dog, who I often pass, and he was bounding and leaping in his yard with an obviously beloved stuffed animal in his mouth, his person jumping around with him and following him! Then I saw the man pull out a cell phone and start videoing the dog as he ran by.

It was a picture of joy and happiness. They were clearly having fun together! It made me take a little tiny pause, at the end of my exhausted drive home, to notice someone relishing a joyful moment.

Some everyday magic. The love of a dog. The bond a dog has with their human. It made me want to go straight home, lay on the floor, and roll around and play with my dog!

I’m listening to This Time Tomorrow by Emma Straub, and one of the chapters I was listening to that night mentioned something about the main character eating hotdogs with her dad and her best friend and how they taste just like heaven. When she looks over at her dad, his face shows he’s enjoying his dinner as much as she is hers, and Emma Straub wrote this great section about how maybe THAT is what life is all about.

Noticing little split seconds or even a few seconds, when you just feel bliss. You are just enjoying yourself, and everything else fades away.

That’s precious. Those are precious moments. Everyday magic.

Eating a hot dog with someone you love. Running through the yard with your dog holding his favorite toy. Joy.