Delight – Turkish And Otherwise

If you’ve ever had Turkish Delight, you know that it is truly, delightful.  There is something about the texture and flavors like Rose and Raspberry that feel a little old-fashioned to me.  Maybe it’s the powdered sugar that I always get all over myself that brings out the child in me.  Remember those moments when you were a child, when something truly delighted you?

Discovering Ham And Swiss On Rye

When I was around ten or twelve years old, an aunt and uncle of mine were married.  At the reception, they had, among other things, cold cuts for sandwiches.  It was this point in my life that I discovered caraway rye bread, sliced ham and swiss cheese, and yellow mustard sandwiches.  I had never tasted something so, well, delightful.  I can’t say how many I ate in the end. It was past the point where, even as a child, I knew my full stomach should not have room for the many many more sandwiches that went into it! 

Sweet Family Togetherness

While we’re speaking of delight, our sweet family went into the deep world yesterday and found ourselves a tree.  The sun was shining. The hot drinks were delicious. The Christmas music was a perfect accompaniment with the old greats like Perry Como, Burl Ives, and Gene Autry.  It was a smile-all-through-the-day kind of day which felt like a true gift.

After the tree was trimmed, we started on a puzzle together, ordered in pizza and all sat down to watch a new show.  This is epic family togetherness for a group of mostly introverts.  A wonderful way to kick off this holiday season.

We’re So Lucky We Get To Live Here

And as if all that wasn’t enough, my newly-adulted, youngest son, Gus and I struck out on a Christmas reconnaissance trip today.  Utterly delightful destination:  Edison, WA.  From Anacortes, Edison is a gorgeous drive through some magnificent Skagit Valley farmland.  The view to the West is of the San Juan Islands, to the North, of the Canadian Cascades, and to the East, the brilliant and newly-snow-covered Mt. Baker.  Did I mention the blue sky and the chilly-clear sunshine? I simply can’t say enough how delightful it was!  Add to that, time with just me and Gus these days is extremely limited, so my mama-heart was in high heaven, chatting and remarking all along the way how happy and lucky we both feel to get to live in such a breathtaking place.

Blue Sky And Light Poking Through

Delight is such an essential and life-giving little creature to stumble upon.  In a world where most of the news is bad and our lives are so hurried and harried.  Even in my awareness of mindfulness and my healthy routines, so much of the time I feel pressed and concerned that what if this time, things might not be ok after all?   Delight is the break in the dark clouds where blue sky and light poke through and remind me there is always hope.  There is always family, whether it’s of the chosen or given variety.  That in the end, love prevails.  And if you’re finding delight hard to come by these days, I can point you to a little town in the valley, or a Turkish Coffee Stand downtown with the most delicious candy.

If you know delight, or crave it, if you are harried or hopeful, let’s be friends~