“How’s life?” they ask.
“Life is pretty good,” I say. “Nothing to note, really.”
Usually, everything is just status quo.
The funny thing is, the best things in life often take you by surprise—offering a minute or two of happiness that fades into the rest of the day. Sometimes, these little things don’t get the attention they deserve.
The first snowfall. Free pizza. A $20 bill that survives the wash in your pocket. Running into an old friend in a city of nine million people. Cursing the crowds in the subway, only to look up and see your favorite poem on the wall.
A couple from college having their first baby. Listening to the rain while you’re cuddled under a blanket, nursing a cup of tea. Driving on an open road with the windows down and music blasting.
When any Backstreet Boys, Spice Girls, or Third Eye Blind song plays at the bar.
A letter from a friend…in the mail.
A brilliant summer sunset that catches you off guard. Going to work on a “bad” hair day but getting more compliments on your hair than ever. Going out for a run and feeling a surge of energy, like your legs aren’t even yours, like you could keep running forever.
A conversation with a younger sibling and feeling overwhelming pride at the person they’ve become.
The realization that someone you like, but never thought you would be with, likes you too.
So often we “create” happiness—planning for vacations, weekends, dinners out with friends. We anticipate exciting things like a new job, an engagement, a move to another city, or other major life events that will lift our spirits for months at a time and change our outlook. But so many of life’s joys are unexpected. They’re threaded right into the fabric of the day along with the stresses and monotony. The smaller moments that happen so fast are among the happiest moments of all. We just didn’t think to take pictures of them or write them down.
“How’s life?” they ask.
“Life is good. Life is great,” I’ll say next time. Because I know it’s not always full of dramatic ups and downs that make for great stories on the phone.
Most of life is filled with little details we choose to either remember, or let slip away.
But together, they add up to something incredible.
Together they add up to a pretty good life.
SKETCHING A STORY 