Joy

I've been lucky enough, over the past weekend, to catch glimpses of joy. And as usual, these beautiful moments happened at the most unlikely time and place.

When I think of Joy I think of words like family, sunshine, color. I think of still snapshots of memories; frozen moments embedded into my heart. But I realize now that joy is not still. Joy has movement. Whether it’s the movement of someone's face when they break into a grin or the motion of raised arms when you squeeze someone into a happy embrace. Joy moves. And this weekend, one 3 separate occasions, I witnessed joy in all of its movement.

The first time was at a dark, dank, dive bar called The Horseshoe. There were about 4 patrons sipping beers and we had loaded the jukebox with dollar bills and set up a playlist that was certain to have us singing. But as I made my way back to my seat, to settle down in front of my pint, I was taken by surprise when he grabbed my hand to twirl me around. And we danced and laughed out loud along with the music. And we were filled with joy.

The second occasion occurred last night in the middle of a crowded bar. I was watching him tell stories and laugh at his own jokes, when out of nowhere; he started bopping in his seat. A sort of shrugging of his shoulders and swinging of his hands with quick moments of passionate air guitar. With his eyes closed, he was grinning and laughing. And I just watched as joy moved him.

The third occasion was later into the night. We were watching a Beastie Boys video and we were both rapping along, I'll stir fry you in my wok, and we were spread out across the living room dancing and twirling and singing and moving. And it was joyful.

And I will remember those moments, not as still photographs but as mini-movies that I will enjoy replaying over and over in my mind.