Moments D171: Beer

Today was a beautiful day all around. A sleep in like I haven’t had for many, many moons, a 1.5 hour workout and then a fantastic afternoon out shopping and an evening bowling.

But the moment of the day that brought me an unexpected smile was when I stopped to pick up lunch at a local Mr. Sub. As I waited for the my sub to be made, I noticed that the fridge behind the counter had beer in it. What? Beer? When did Mr. Sub become a licensed restaurant? Very curious.

And, while I didn’t partake in a late afternoon beer at Mr. Sub, I did have a goofy grin on my face when I realized they were licensed. Such a strange thing to see! I almost thought I was in Europe somewhere for a split second!

Moments of surprise.

Moments of unexpected smiles!

Moments D122: Sparrows

Today I had a delightful lunch with one of my best friends. It was absolutely delightful. He introduced me to a delicious new beer. The Stiegel Radler. Unfortunately our beer stores only sell it by the Keg. Hmmm. An excuse for an end of the summer party? Perhaps. Perhaps indeed!

And while the stories shared over lunch and the delightful plates of heaven at “le petit dejeuner” where moments in their own right, today’s unexpected smile comes from something a little less expected.

As I was walking from the parking lot back to my office on this hot summer afternoon, I walked through a flock of sparrows. They must have been young as they were smaller than normal. Small enough for me to notice their size. Small enough to make me smile as they flittered away from me.

The silly little birds. You’d think the flock of 10-12 sparrows would have flown away from the direction I was walking. But no. Instead, the group of them flew a few inches away from me and as I approached a second time, there was a flurry of wings and chirps, like I was doing this on purpose to them - stirring up their perch in the sun. They repeated this foolishness a third time and I shook my head. It wasn’t until the fourth time this happened that I giggled and said aloud to them “silly birds, I’m not chasing you!”. And then, something magical happened. As I approached them for a fifth time, quite near to the office doors, they didn’t flitter away. Instead, they stayed on the fence and a nearby bike and watched me pass by them.

And I smiled. I smiled all the way up two flights of stairs thinking about those silly sparrows.

Today’s moment. Silly sparrows flying all around me, but not away from me. The moment where they paused to wait for me to walk past them.

It was a moment to enjoy another creature. And a moment to dream of flying with them one day, instead of walking through their flutter.