Simple pleasures are the best in Daydreaming on the Porch

Some years ago, a modest and unassuming book was published entitled “Simple Pleasures,” by John Hadamuscin, and it was filled with a recounting of life’s blessings in ordinary disguise. Upon further reflection these things we often take for granted are rather profound in what they mean to us with their unvarnished and simple evocation of memory and emotions. They provide immediate connections to pleasant experiences and associations from the past. They are instantly recognizable. They are life’s good things.

I’d never have seen the book if it hadn’t been sitting in a stack of remainders at one of the large chain bookstores — “Bargain Books” they’re sometimes called. But this was not only a bargain, but a treasure. I bet there are other people like me who snapped it up from among all the forgettable flotsam and jetsam on that long table. A small book, too, about 5 by 6 inches, and on the cover, a photo of pitchers of lemonade on a summer picnic table somewhere in this vast land of seasonal dreams and imaginings.

From among the many “simple pleasures” the author has listed, I have chosen a few to write about here. They are among my favorites, although it’s hard to choose. They are all so nice. Sometimes, also, we need to be reminded of these things and see them spelled out for us with accompanying photographs. On a dreary winter day, I can sit down in the recliner chair by the bookshelves and take up this little book and have spring, summer and fall daydreams. It is a book to lift the spirits and smooth the frayed edges of our lives.

My favorites:

• Tomato soup and a toasted cheese sandwich

I rarely have this, but when I do, I always wonder why it isn’t a habit, especially in winter. What a perfect combination!

• Hearing an old clock chime

Think of an old house, sort of musty and comfortable from decades of living spirits within, and then think of the quiet of late night reading, briefly interrupted by that clock chiming the hour.

• Sitting by the fire on a winter afternoon

This is one of those pleasures I rarely if ever experience, living in a mild climate, but sometimes it’s just cold enough for long enough to get that fire going and treasure it for the novelty it is in our part of the South.

• Meat loaf and mashed potatoes for supper

These days I don’t eat beef anymore so will have to make do with a plant-based substitute. There is nothing quite like this dinner to stir up memories of childhood when you had to come in from the backyard where your imagination was triumphing and running free, where you were lost in play, but HAD to come in for supper. The screen door would slam shut and on the dinner table would be that plate of meat loaf with your mother’s best mashed potatoes and gravy, and a vegetable, of course. It was enough to allow play be deferred while you ate that scrumptious meal Mom made.

• A bunch of daisies on the kitchen table

There is nothing to make it look quite like spring or summer inside than a pitcher of daisies, set in the middle of a table with a checkered oil cloth covering.

• Slipping under bedcovers on a cold night

The tension and tiredness of a long day melts away as you prepare for cool, sweet slumber.

• A baby’s smile

Pure contentment; life has innocence.

• The sound of rain on the roof

You are inside, cozy and dry. The elements can perform outside and you are secure within.

• Listening to children play

Life goes on. The joy of childhood, play and time suspended for us weary adults to ponder.

• The smell of fresh, air-dried bedsheets

Is there no sweeter smell of the fresh outdoors than this?

• Watching the breeze rustle curtains

I know it’s spring or fall, or the in-between seasons, when the windows are open and breezes from outside fill the house and cleanse it.

• Sitting on the porch during a summer thunderstorm

You can smell that storm coming, and the downpour’s mist, when it arrives, makes you waver between staying and going inside. You stay and don’t notice the mist which is cool and soothing.

• Watching a small-town parade

The bands, the floats, the cars, the people all having a good time. The community comes together.

• Listening to crickets at night

How many nights have I sat on the porch in the weathered rocking chair and lulled myself almost to sleep listening to this sound. There is no time. The peace and stillness of night is the backdrop for an evening symphony, one of Nature’s gifts — a reminder of life in the seasons of plenty.

What are some of your simple pleasures?

Last updated July 24, 2021