More Sparks o’ Joy

BIG spark–almost a conflagration: #4 daughter and her husband are safely back from trip overseas. They had a great time. I worked really hard on not worrying. It helped that she called me every couple of days. I expected to live in constant grinding anxiety the whole time they were gone, especially during travel time, but I managed to distract myself and to concentrate on all the lovely things she was telling me about the trip. I also medicated. Mr. Benadryl and Mr. Lexapro are our friends.

Here are some edible sparks. My mother and I make a supply run every so often to a larger town (most towns are) for things we can’t get in Corydon. We usually eat out while we’re at it. The last time we went, we at at the Long John Silver and A&W combination. After a summer of excellent fresh produce, we were in the mood form something massively unhealthy, and I think we chose wisely. Pictured here are a chili dog, chili cheese fries and root beer. Mmmmmm! BAD 4 u!

Another one is new and old. Charlie loves tomato sandwiches. He says he learned to eat them at J. B. Atkinson Elementary, where we each went to school. In my day, I don’t remember tomato sandwiches. In my day, they gave us peanut butter on buns. So, this year, I finally got hooked on tomato sandwiches. Just slices of tomato between pieces of toast slathered with mayonnaise. Charlie’s a purist, so he just has it like that. I like slices of dill pickle on it, too. It is SO GOOD! It’s very fresh and bright, light and yet filling. Leaves a happy taste in your mouth.

The last spark of the day isn’t edible, but it has to do with food. I love Chinese food, but I love Chinese restaurant decorating maybe even better. We have one, the Hong Kong Buffet, in town–we have two or three Chinese restaurants, but this is the one with the winning decor. They have a big aquarium in the front with this HUGE koi in it, and the acquarium is cleaned regularly, which is already a happy thing. But look at this. They have glass panels etched with animals and plants and birds. Look at these crazy rabbits. I like sitting in the rabbit booth. 🙂 And there’s all this red and gold stuff to warm your heart, and tassels to tickle your fancy. Not to mention dragons. How can you not be happy, when you’re looking at a paper dragon? A red-and-gold paper dragon? with tassels?

Hope your day is happy and anxiety-free.

MA

writing prompt: Make something very small and unimportant a source of joy for a character–good guy or, maybe more interesting, bad guy.