The Simple Pleasures

It is the simple pleasures in life, my friends, that make life worth living.

Take just a moment and think about the simple things in life that you enjoy. I did that today. I opened up every window in the house that has a bug screen (because Bethany really doesn't like it when I let bugs in the house) as well as the front door and let Spring breeze its way into my home. I tidied up a bit and took care of the things that had piled up over the course of the past week since we haven't been home.

Next I went Krogering. It may sound odd to you, but I like grocery shopping. Filling my kitchen up is one of the simple things that I enjoy about my life. Grocery stores are a lot like book stores in that they are full of potential. There are so many ingredients, so many potential great and epic meals to be made...

Then I came home, cleaned up the kitchen and made a nice, hearty, thick turkey and swiss sandwich on toasted bread. Accompanying my sandwich of choice was a fresh bag of Lays potato chips and a nice tall glass of iced Kool-Aide, freshly made and stirred with a wooden spoon.

After lunch there was a workout. A leg workout that was absolutely great. We followed it up with a game of 21. There was an adult yoga class about to start in the other half of the gym, so we cut it short, but for a brief moment we had an audience of women watching us play.

Now that might sound like fun, but in all honesty Bryan and I are a couple of white boys (yes, I know that sounds racist. Go look at the NBA and then tell me that it isn't true.) out there chasing a ball just for the sake of stretching out our muscles and getting in a little cardio. Once upon a time, however, I played basketball and I was good. Those days have passed, but my shot is still pretty decent. I'm back up to about 50 percent from the floor. I've finally learned what my old ball coach (Dad) meant when he would fuss at me to "square up to the basket". I do that now. I get it. It has made a tremendous difference in my shooting.

Well, I had the ball at the top of the key and I noticed we had an audience of a couple of women. So, with Bryan guarding, I dribbled around to the right, staying on the perimeter instead of driving, pulled up and launched a jump shot as Bryan, who didn't expect me to stop, ran past me.

"Not a chance," he said, but I knew he was wrong. I knew it was good the moment that ball left my finger tips. It had way too much arc, yet I could have closed my eyes and not watched that orange sphere sail through the air and absolutely know that ball was going to go in. And it did. Stripped the net with the prettiest swish you'd ever want to hear.

As I went to the line to take my free throw that is the reward for making a basket in 21 I casually glanced toward the door to see if our audience noticed such a masterful display of shooting.

They were gone.

Prettiest swish you'd ever want to hear. The simple pleasures of life, my friends.