the sound of the sea...

I have always associated summer holidays with the sound of the sea. I have never been on a mountain for my summer break, neither will I ever chose to be... brrr... unnatural... For me summer holidays means a balcony with view to the sea, swimming, walking on the beach, reading a book in the shade (a book which by the end of the reading will be all stained by the oily sunblock, all dog-eared and with a bit of sand between its pages... ), a bit of sunburn, watermelon in the afternoon and ice cream, mosquito repellent and, surely, listening to the waves breaking on the shore...

I remember as if it were yesterday, though more than 25 years have passed, this feeling of calmness when my parents would have me take a siesta, during those late afternoon hours when the sun was burning, and I would stay silent on my bed, listening to the sea and reading Mickey Mouse until I would fall asleep and the comic book would fall out of my hands! Or, late at night, again the music of the sea would sneak in the room in the tiny apartment  we would rent for the holidays from the open balcony doors and keep me company until I fell asleep... Yes, holidays have always been abut the sound of the sea...

Things have changed little since... apart from the wrinkles on my face, that is... I came back from my summer break today... a proper summer break by the sea in the homeland... and though tired and a bit melancholic, as it could not be otherwise, I still carry in my ears the sounds of the waves as they were singing their lullaby to me every night for the last week, bringing back those childhood memories, keeping me company, soothing me... and I know that THAT was better than shoes! Absolutely!

a bit of sun...

ok, not a bit... A lot of sun!!! And a lot of sea and a lot of sand and a cold coffee!! ...I am in desperate need for holidays! And no, that is not better than shoes... but wouldn't it indeed be if I actually were on holidays, hum, hum?!... with the warm sun and the golden sand and the blue sky and the crispy salad for lunch and the ice-cream and a nap after the beach and... oh, bliss!!!

I have made silly plans this summer... It happens and it did actually happen... and as a result of that  I have been patiently (ok... ok... I have no patience for anything and all those who know me can testify to that...) waiting all summer for a week by the sea in my homeland and the time just doesn't seem to get me there! It's like I'm stuck in the calendar, time moving a slowly as honey on a (non-tilted...) table and there is nothing I can do to shift the clock forward! I dream about it, I wish for it, I look at the pictures of the hotel over and over again but... still ten days to go!!

Goodness, this is torture... it's like discovering the perfect ankle boot, with the most perfect hidden platform which adds easily 5 more cm to your (average...) hight and not being able, the Internet world over, to find your size! My friends have all gone on holidays and gotten back, tanned and relaxed and with that glowing smile on their faces and I'm still here! In the rain! Complaining!!! Even in this blog were I have given my word of honour to only write positive stuff... oh, man, the lack of sea and sun and, well, summer to say the truth, has turned me into a monster!!

Anyone knows any tricks to turn time forward?? (Cher wished for the opposite but I guess that didn't work out either...)

the pursuit of happiness...

I have believed for many years that happiness is not a "property", not a "long term state of being" like gender or profession... I never thought that anyone can be truly happy (or unhappy...) for a long time, for years, for a lifetime... nor that there are people, jobs, things that can transform our life to a happy one... My view, instead, has been that we all have happy moments! Sometimes more often, sometimes more rarely, sometimes we see them and we let ourselves enjoy and appreciate them, sometimes we don't even notice them, perhaps because we are expecting something else... perhaps because during those moments we are looking elsewhere, looking for "happiness"...

Like everyone, I have my ups and downs... some days the sun shines and some days the rain falls... But for as long as I can remember I have been making a conscious effort not to miss my happy moments (though, on the contrary, never complained for having missed a sad one!)... and, the funny thing is that the more I noticed the more they seamed to be! Whether it meant to give a smile and feel happy with a good film on TV, cooking  nice meal, being with friends, find a great bargain (surely one would feel happy with a 50% a classic pair of nude colour slingbacks, right ;) or just relaxing after a long walk on a Sunday afternoon, whether alone of with others, I have always tried to recognize and embrace my happy moments!

So here I am, watching "Annie" on TV (and, mind you, I don't even like musicals!!) with a glass of wine, still tired from the workout this morning, laundry all done, beautiful sunset outside my windows... all in all, a happy moment! Happy as can be! I choose not to think how I could be happier, it would be such a vain pursuit, but to realize how happy I feel right now! One does not need a lot to feel like this, it is a state of mind one can reach if only one wants... and it is better than shoes! I speak from experience ;)