Picture: small church in Val Badia ©2012 Honoré Dupuis

Everyday pleasures

There are phases in our lives, for most of us a border between adult active, often hyperactive, and retirement, all dependent on our circumstances and way of life (among other things). For me, having be very active between four different countries, the everyday pleasures, those key to happiness, soon displaced the fury and hunger of the me in the first phase.

I must say that those everyday pleasures developed gradually, in steps, and often reversals, helped by my varied occupations and interests that preceded this quiet phase.

Pleasure no 1: Early light

I worship light, from the sun, the skies, the clouds, the moon. Early light, especially at this time of year in the Northern/Western hemisphere comes in just after five am (BST, CET-1hour) and always wakes me up. Having lived a few years with CET, I by far prefer it, but one has to adapt to local conditions. I spend a few minutes to regain consciousness, as as many people who keep physical exercise in older age, I tend to sleep deeply, and literally emerge in the morning light.

Pleasure no 2: Coffee

It came to me gradually too, learning the sheer delight of real coffee in the morning. I tiptoe downstairs, as I do not wish to wake her up before her time, and usually spend a few minutes getting the kit and the beans ready. I am getting far better at making coffee, for choosing the mix of beans to grinding to the right cut, and finally gauging the amount.

The coffee machine, a superlative Melitta – ha! Melitta of Dresden! – is a recent acquisition, and it’s worth it. Once the water is in, just the right amount, there comes the filter (paper of course, unbleached) and off it goes. Coffee is ready within minutes. The aroma is for me an object of worship.

The next hour or so is coffee and a good book. The choice of morning book depends on the mood, it may be poetry, one of Dumas tomes, or something more serious, maybe technical. 

Pleasure no 3: She

She comes like an angel, first in the kitchen, then to where I sit, and my heart beats stronger. We seek each other’s, checking the mood, the temperature, the first signs of what will be the day’s theme. Coffee for her, the second or third cup for me. Did anything interesting or dramatic happen last night? Then we switch to real daytime. Precious instant.

Pleasure no 4: Exercise

I train three times a week on average. The local gym is huge and full of all sorts of machines, bars, weights and young people. On a normal day it opens at six am, but I am usually in around eight. My sessions vary slightly, although I have a basic platform that exercises everything lightly. I no longer lift or shift megatons, and am quite cautious about injury, breaking something, since it would take me a long time to recover. When we are in a city friendly to cyclists we take the bikes out.

Pleasure no 5: work

Work is now a mix of reading, working on the blog, correspondance (yes!) and in the good season gardening. We often go for long (15-20km) walks at weekends., often with a meeting the grandchildren in the middle for a pub lunch.

This post wouldn’t be complete without mentioning the last pleasure of the day: le dernier bonheur du jour, c’est la lampe qui s’éteint…