The simple things bring the biggest smiles
On Sunday afternoon, as I sat in the comforts of the shade that my patio provides, my mind began to wander to thoughts of the simple things in life.
Too often, we gaze over the simple things, don’t give them a second thought or take them for granted. Yet, we smile when they happen.
For instance, across the street from my home that day in a vacant parking lot, I watched a young man repeatedly flip wheelies on his bike. His dog, although unleashed, didn’t stray far from him, in fact, he scampered from one end of the parking lot to the other as his owner repeatedly elevated the bike’s front wheel.
Of course, the photographer in me soon had me grabbing my camera, zooming in to capture him in action. The curious reporter in me next had a notebook and pen in hand, and my two feet had me walking across the street to document his name, what he was doing, and of course, why.
As you’ll see on a page in this week’s issue, Tate Colwell was simply enjoying time in the outdoors, despite the hot summer time temperature that day. It was something so simple that brought him joy and doubled as a way to get his dog, Jolene, the ability to run and play and sniff out her surroundings.
On Saturday, as I made my way from one activity to the next at the Valley Springs Booster Days celebration, I captured plenty of cute kid smiles, all generated from simple things. Simple things like plucking a plastic duck out of a tub of water in exchange for a prize or a trot around the cake walk circle to win a tray of home-baked cupcakes or cookies all brought smiles to their faces.
I strategically watched from the sidelines of the mud volleyball tournament as players slipped, slid and splashed their way through the game. Despite the mess of the mud and the chilly water out of the hose provided to wash away the clingy combination of dirt and water, you couldn’t wipe their smiles away.
They were having fun. Simple fun.
As a kid, I remember finding fun in the simple things, like making a fort out of the neighbor’s clothesline and blankets or hauling every piece of my Barbie collection outside for full day of play. I remember scooping up jars of tadpoles from the nearby vacated railroad track ditches that filled with water every spring or the multiple Kool-Aid stands we set up in hopes of making a few pennies before we drank up all the profits ourselves.
I remember for a single dime, we could get on ‘the dime bus’ that took us to Long Lake for an afternoon of swimming in the summertime. I remember Crazy Days, and the simple fun that could be had plucking a 50-cent grab bag out of the bin at the Ben Franklin store or the refreshing taste of a Mr. Freezie purchased for pennies at Plumhoff’s popcorn stand at Memorial Park.
In today’s world, where cell phones keep us on schedule and anyone at any time has the ability to call or text or email, it’s easy to forget about the simple things in life that bring us the biggest smiles.
