Summary

The author shares a personal account of finding joy in simple gestures of love and support, such as receiving red roses and a cake from her husband on Valentine's Day and acknowledgment from fellow writers for her participation in the Coffee Challenge 3.

Abstract

The article titled "Little Things That Make Me Happy" is a heartfelt reflection on the joy derived from small acts of kindness and love. The author, who usually celebrates love in simple ways, was pleasantly surprised by her husband with red roses and a black forest cake on Valentine's Day. This unexpected gesture, coupled with the outpouring of support from fellow writers, highlighted the significance of thoughtful actions in bringing happiness. The author also appreciates other small delights in life, such as receiving books as gifts, catching up with friends over coffee, basking in the sun, and reading heartfelt emails. The story is a response to a weekly prompt on "Surprise and delight" and concludes with a recommendation to read a related piece on the benefits of solitude for writers.

Opinions

The author values meaningful gestures over grand celebrations, especially on Valentine's Day.
Receiving a bouquet of red roses and a cake made the author feel loved and a little spoiled.
The author cherishes the support and kindness shown by fellow writers, emphasizing the importance of community in her life.
Small pleasures, such as books, coffee with friends, and sunny days, are significant sources of happiness for the author.
Written expressions of appreciation, like emails, hold great value to the author.
The author endorses the idea that solitude can enhance one's writing and self-awareness, as suggested by another writer's work.

Little Things That Make Me Happy

A bouquet of flowers, a book as a present and…..

Photo by Bence Balla-Schottner on Unsplash

…..basically any gesture of support, kindness, consideration, or care.

Last Monday, 14th February, was a special one, you all know why.

I have never made a big deal about celebrating Valentine’s day with candlelight dinners, heart-shaped red balloons, or anything fancy really.

I like to celebrate love, in whatever form I am blessed with.

On my best days, I would write a small poem for my partner to express my feelings, but that is pretty much it.

Likewise, I never expected my partner to make the day so obvious. It was a Monday, a working day and so by the end of it, that is, by six in the evening when my husband returned from work, all I expected was to have a good dinner together and watch our favorite show on a laptop (That’s right, we don’t have a TV yet)

I was preparing the paneer gravy (that’s his favorite, and mine too) and when I was almost done, I headed towards the door as I heard the knock.

A bouquet of red roses greeted me at the door, hiding behind them was the face of my awesome baby!

Red roses! 😍

“OMG, wow!” I said in surprise.

“Happy Valentine’s day, my love”, he handed me the flowers and pulled out his right hand from the back that held a black forest cake.

“We are celebrating, it seems!” I exclaimed, still in surprise.

“I love you”, he said and gave me a side hug.

He came inside the house and headed towards the bathroom to freshen up.

In the meantime, I stared at those roses, feeling loved and a little spoiled.

I cherished that moment. It made me happy. I smile, every time I think of/see it.

They stay on the table in one corner of our living room cum kitchen. I end up looking at them when I enter the house or go out or when I am simply sitting on the sofa, facing them, admiring how colorful and beautiful they are. We live in a studio apartment and against both (my husband’s and mine's) our wishes, we don’t have much space to bring items of house decor. Hence the red bottle. Image by the author.

Last week, I was also surprised when I received overwhelming love, support, and kindness from fellow writers (Tamil and Zaha) for my participation and win in Coffee Challenge 3.

Over the years, these are some other things, small as it may appear, that have made me delighted —

Receiving “books” as gifts.
Catching up with a friend over a coffee
Sun
Emails ( a written expression by others of how much I or our relationship means to them. I’ve had a couple and trust me, they are the kind of emails you would want to receive, always!) like these —

This story was written in response to the weekly prompt shared by Trista Signe Ainsworth, Surprise and delight.

Meanwhile, I really enjoyed reading this story by Zaha Hyatt about celebrating solitude productively —

Solitude Will Make You a Better Writer

How to embrace solitude to further your art and cultivate deeper self-awareness.

medium.com