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Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To really revel in small joys?

95 replies

LovelyTheresa · 22/03/2024 18:21

This is a gratitude thread, to counteract all the doom and gloom and depressing news stories. My small joys are as follows

Spring Flowers, daffs in particular
That beautiful grey blue shade that the sky turns after it has been raining
My wood fire, bliss
Cats
Easter eggs
Superga trainers: the most stylish and comfortable
Netflix
Cracking open a really satisfying novel, especially a crime novel
Fresh bedlinen
Home baking
The smell of coffee brewing
Anticipation of summer holidays
Nail polish
Making a really good playlist (I am very very good at that, my playlists are always highly in demand at parties)
Real tea, made with leaves not bags, in a teapot
Spicy pasta
Coffee eclairs
Good perfume
Long walks in the park
Bay windows with stained glass
Cashmere jumpers in pastel colours

OP posts:
TheFancyPoet · 22/03/2024 20:15

roaming the town, buying from the local market, lighting a candle in a church, piano jazz, blue cheese, chicken and noodle soup, online church

soundsgreektome · 22/03/2024 20:15

Dew on the grass in sunlight.
New buds on the trees.
A smile on a passer-by.
A blackbird singing at the same time everyday.

AnneElliott · 22/03/2024 20:20

The squeak that one of the cats makes - it's not a proper meow but is so lovely and cute
A good book and a cup of tea
The blossom out on the trees

HumanRightsAreHumanRights · 22/03/2024 20:23

Opening a book I've never read before for the first time.
The first buds on the trees.
First flowers in Spring.
Looking at a room which I've just tidied up so it's spotless.
The first fire when the weather gets cold.
Looking out the window when it's pouring down with rain, but I'm all warm inside.
The smell of freshly baked pretty much anything as I take it out of the oven.
New shoots in the greenhouse when I've planted seeds.
The first courgette (admittedly by number two million I'm over it every year).
Somebody else making me a cup of coffee.
Picking and eating ripe berries from the garden.
My kids saying they love me.
Getting into a freshly made bed after a bath.

LovelyTheresa · 22/03/2024 20:23

AnneElliott · 22/03/2024 20:20

The squeak that one of the cats makes - it's not a proper meow but is so lovely and cute
A good book and a cup of tea
The blossom out on the trees

When I kiss the top of my cat's head, she utters this 'muewrp' sound. It is my favourite sound in the whole world.

OP posts:
humblesims · 22/03/2024 20:27

Sybila · 22/03/2024 18:23

Magnolia trees right now

Yes! Stunning this year.

Hot water bottles.
Dogs
New socks
toast and butter
a chat with grown up DCs
late afternoon sunshine

Benjaminsniddlegrass · 22/03/2024 20:27

Swimming somewhere really beautiful when it's sunny and the light glitters and the water is still really cold and you get swimmers grin.

The feeling after a really good workout or run when you get that lovely little buzz.

Sun on your face on a winters day (apricity)

Reading a book in front of the fire whilst my DH strokes my feet, there's a cold glass of wine on the go and a new candle burning.

PointerParty · 22/03/2024 20:30

LastRites · 22/03/2024 20:15

The beautiful, old magnolia in our garden
The smell of jasmine in summer
Opening a great bottle of wine
Fresh coffee
A long walk followed by a cold pint
Chatting with my children and hearing all their gossip
Watching the birds in our garden
Early mornings when no one else is up

I have so many more!

Yes to the smell of Jasmine, especially when it's drifting through a window at night!

LovelyTheresa · 22/03/2024 20:30

Benjaminsniddlegrass · 22/03/2024 20:27

Swimming somewhere really beautiful when it's sunny and the light glitters and the water is still really cold and you get swimmers grin.

The feeling after a really good workout or run when you get that lovely little buzz.

Sun on your face on a winters day (apricity)

Reading a book in front of the fire whilst my DH strokes my feet, there's a cold glass of wine on the go and a new candle burning.

I hadn't ever heard the word 'apricity' before! I consider myself a well read and well educated person, so it isn't often I find a 'new to me' word, so thank you!

OP posts:
Unicorn34 · 22/03/2024 20:45

Loving this thread too. It's been such a difficult couple of years that you have to look at the positives:

The smell of the stables (takes me back to happy childhood memories)

My 2 grandchildren, especially nanny snuggles

Watching my 2 grandchildren with their granddad and my youngest who has MH issues

My cats - all 4

My first cuppa in the morning

Bumblebees

All animals really!

The beginning of Carwash by Rose Royce

Hugging my children

A Baileys with crushed ice

So many more....

❤️

Telomeres · 22/03/2024 21:04

@LovelyTheresa apricity and petrichor are two of the loveliest things ever 🙂

Muchtoomuchtodo · 22/03/2024 21:27

Washing on the line (and actually drying!)
Clean bedding.
cheepy birds
the smell of our lilac tree (not had that yet this year)
my little mini daffodils- are they narcissus?!
baking - I should do it more
a cup of tea with friends (see above)

Whatineed · 22/03/2024 21:30

Sybila · 22/03/2024 18:23

Magnolia trees right now

Out of nowhere my little tree has blossomed and it's gorgeous. The rest of the garden is still mud but it's nice to have a coffee and admire this, and the bees busily harvesting...

To really revel in small joys?
IVFlife · 22/03/2024 21:31

My friend brought me daffodils today.
Tea exists.

And this one is small physically but not small in importance but I just like saying it...since Sunday we currently have 5 tiny embryos chilling in the freezer.

Telomeres · 22/03/2024 21:43

Wow @IVFlife that is very joyous indeed!

muddlingthrou · 22/03/2024 21:51

Congratulations @IVFlife - here's to many more joys big and small to come for you ☺️

Over40Overdating · 22/03/2024 21:56

The contented snores of my ex-stray cat, finally feeling safe enough to have a big deep, sleep.

The first bird cheeping in Spring.

Crunchy salted butter on fresh bread.

Waking up on a weekend morning with no plans except drinking tea, from a pot, with stacks of things to read.

Same cat interrupting the reading to demand chin rubs & giving me a head bump as thanks.

Tittyfilarious · 22/03/2024 22:02

I saw bees today bumbling around , I love seeing bees 😊

ProjectsGalore · 22/03/2024 22:10

Oooh I love these threads. My small joys are a candle, a book and pottering in my greenhouse.

ssd · 22/03/2024 22:12

The smell of a clean bed
A good chat with a friend
The peace at night when you turn off the telly and hear the clock ticking
A good cup of tea
The trees blowing in the wind
Crocuses and snow drops

And I'm looking forward to seeing the pink blossom on the trees soon

Doihavetogotoworkdotcom1 · 22/03/2024 22:12

The sound of owls hooting. It makes me feel calm when I hear them.

Hartley99 · 22/03/2024 22:21

Laying in a hot bath listening to audiobooks. Stephen Fry reading Sherlock Holmes or P G Wodehouse is my idea of heaven.

Seeing people talk to their dogs, and the dog looking up at them as if it can understand. One of the sweetest sights is some big, tough looking guy chatting away to his spaniel or cockapoo.

The sunlight shining through the blossom.

Cold and misty afternoons in late Autumn.

The smell of burning leaves and dead wood coming from the local allotment, especially in October or November.

Falling snow.

Arriving in an old British town, like Bath or York or Oxford, early in the morning, before the crowds build, and watching the sun shine on the beautiful old buildings.

Coffee shops. I don’t drink coffee, but I love the smell. Neros is my favourite.

A beautifully kept Victorian park, with manicured lawns and well-tended flowerbeds. I live in Colchester, and generally hate the place, but we do have a lovely and beautifully maintained park.

Chocolate donuts, cheese-flavoured Doritos dipped in hummus, chocolate magnums.

Wandering around art galleries. I want my ashes scattered in the National Gallery!

Looking at the books on my shelves. I genuinely love books as objects, and have spent years collecting them. I’ve got most of Aldous Huxley, Evelyn Waugh, Jane Austen, Virginia Woolf, etc, in various editions.

University Challenge. The new host is so much better than that ghastly, rude Paxman. And it’s wonderful to see such intelligent, knowledgeable young people.

DVD boxsets. Breaking Bad, Colditz, I Claudius, etc.

Diet coke with lots of ice.

Catsmere · 22/03/2024 22:34

Lovely thread, OP, thank you.

My cats coming up for cuddles and purrs
Cooler weather so I can wear jumpers again at last
Magpies carolling
Being complimented for something I knitted

Kittycat333 · 22/03/2024 22:41

These are all wonderful. I'll add
-Getting home from a long journey and getting into a clean bed
-Eating something you've fancied for ages and it being fantastic
-The feeling when you know you're going to go to sleep (I long for this again sob)
-The perfect cup of earl grey
-Finding money anywhere!
-When you catch a beautiful scent in the air. I have hyacinth beside my bed
-Waking up and seeing that you have loads more sleep time
-A long hot everything shower when you've been dirty
-Being really excited about something
-Being in, or next to water
-Wind rustling through trees
-A cool glass of water on a hot day
-Church bells and birdsong on a summer morning. All nature music actually

Telomeres · 22/03/2024 22:59

My neighbours band practicing 🙂