Real Happiness
Had a board game picnic in the park with Liv, Ziv, and Josh today! Simply joyful. While Liv and I were on our own grabbing tea cakes from the store, they randomly gushed about how happy they feel whenever they hang out with me and how much they value me. It was very sweet to hear; I let them know how much I value them, too. Our silliness and nature trail excursions are good for my soul.
It was Ziv's birthday recently. I had no idea. Neither did Liv, somehow. So we grabbed a carrot cake, a stupid candy-filled monkey balloon, and a "for husbands" birthday card with a chainsaw on it, and made it work. Ziv appreciated the surprise but I insisted they look as sad as possible for the picture.
Later on, while the four of us were playing some color guessing board game, Liv announced that they felt a weird feeling. I asked them if it was positive or negative, and they responded, "It's definitely positive, it's just... weird. Is this like, actual happiness? I might be experiencing real happiness." Hahah. We were all pretty happy. The sun was bright (though the air was cold), there was a nice breeze, we were sitting in the grass and cracking up and eating raspberries... a very blissful setting indeed.
We walked for a while on a trail that took us into town. Some kids from the local middle school were running in a large group, I'm assuming for gym or a sport, and there was this one girl who was walking/jogging on her lonesome. There was a sort of serenity to her. From behind, she kind of looked like me when I was in middle school. It was neat. I hope she is a happy person.
On the way back to the park, Liv and Josh pointed out a bench on the side of a creek and recounted the time they sat there together while on shrooms. Liv told me, "I felt like you were there, David. I kept saying, 'I feel like David's here. Like he's here in spirit.'" That brought out a big smile from me. "I was there in spirit! I am with you always."