Tag Archives: joy

Finding the Magic on a Dark Day

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It was dark and cold and I needed to get out of the house and find some magic.

I drove towards La Conner, took a left, another left, and a right, and ended up at Kohl’s in Burlington. I rarely shop at Kohl’s, but I found myself heading towards their door. I meandered towards the back of the store and looked to the left, and this is where I found magic!

There was a happy little toddler there, busily pushing one of those toy popper mowers and my heart just melted at the sight of him. He was joy personified! I looked around to see who he was with, and found his mom and dad watching him from the aisle. They saw me grinning and laughing, tickled by their little boy, and started laughing with me. After a couple of attempts, I realized the little one’s mom and dad didn’t speak English – I think they were speaking Oaxacan – but we managed to communicate without words, and I was able to let them know I wanted to buy the popper toy for their toddler. They nodded and smiled, and followed me as I went to the cashier to pay for the toy. When I’d bought the popper mower, I brought it back to the little one – who was sitting in the cart now – and thanked him for the pleasure of meeting him today. It – all of it! – was magic!

I wandered around the shopping area for a while then – to See’s for some California brittle – to Petco to watch the fish. And then I drove to Fred’s for some impulse shopping.

I picked up a bag of oranges, a bag of apples, cherry tomatoes, cat food, yogurt, and went to the cashier to pay. She asked me how I was doing and I told her it was cold and dark and I needed to come to Fred’s and buy impulse items. “Like cat food,” I said, “and I don’t even have a cat!” She started laughing with me. I told her nah, I was just joking.

It brings me joy to be with people who know how to laugh with me.

It was still cold and dark outside as I drove home, but now my inside was all warmed up with laughter.

The Way It Should Always Be

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PUPS!!! So many sweet pups on the boardwalk today! They brought me such joy, filled my heart all up with good things. There were two Lilahs; a Motley; Aspen with her human, Ash, ; Gypsy; my old friend, Daisy, with her buddy, Melody; Akira, who danced down the boardwalk; and my old friend, Baker – who came bounding down the boardwalk to greet me.

The bay was beautiful today, too – blue and shiny, with fog on one side, and the Canadian Coastals on the other.

The road above Taylor Dock to Fairhaven was closed because of construction, so I went up one block to by-pass the blocked street and then came down into Fairhaven from above. I felt Cafe Blue calling to me – I haven’t been there for a while and was missing the welcoming vibe. Cafe Blue has always been packed full of people when I’ve been there, so I mentally prepared myself for that. I figured if I couldn’t find a place to sit, I’d just get a coffee to go and take it with me on my walk back to my car.

Cafe Blue WAS packed again today, but, cosmically, as soon as I got done giving my order and started looking for a table, one opened up! It was a table for four and I felt kind of greedy sitting there – so I put myself in the corner of the table, ready to offer the rest of the table to whoever was looking for a place to sit.

My coffee arrived and I settled into the space, closed my eyes for a minute and just let myself absorb the joy around me. When I opened my eyes I saw a couple of young women who looked like they were looking for a place to sit. I offered them the open seats at my table and they sat there until the table next to mine opened up for them. One of the women, Elena, had cool rings on every finger, and I asked her about them. She said the one on her thumb had been made by her grandma, and the other rings were ones she’d mostly found in shops around Bellingham – rings with art and cool quartz and tiger’s eye rocks. I told her I love rocks, too, and reached for my amber necklace to show it off to her – and then I realized I’d forgotten to wear it today. Elena laughed and said that happens to her, too – just when she wants to show off something, she doesn’t have it with her.

I enjoy the feeling of community I always feel in the Cafe Blue – strangers smiling at each other, sharing tables, becoming friends. That’s the way it should always be.

I Smiled the Whole Way Home

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Fred’s was full of Seahawks fever today. They’ve got this big screen tv set up in the middle of the store with a comfy chair in front of it. Highlights from Seahawks games are playing on the screen, and every time I passed the TV, I stopped to watch for a moment – Bobo catching a touchdown pass; Smith-Njigba running the ball in for six points. So fun!

Today there was a man seated in the comfy chair, watching the highlights with a smile on his face. I recognized him as the man who worked in the big bookstore in the Cascade Mall maybe 30 or 35 years ago. We exchanged smiles and greetings and watched the highlights together for a bit.

There were so many sweet toddlers in Fred’s today – and, being the grandmother of a toddler, I find myself wanting to exchange smiles with each and every sweet one of them. Such joy!

I ran into an old teaching colleague, Rob, at Fred’s. I tailgated him with my cart until he finally turned around to see who was behind him, and then his face lit up in recognition. He smiled and asked how I was doing. I said, “You know…” I asked him how he was doing and he said, “Same.” We gave each other a hug and wished each other a good day and exchanged one more smile before we moved on.

There was a young man in the store – early thirties maybe – and we kept passing each other in the produce section. Every time we’d pass each other, we’d smile. And this young man’s smile was so genuine and kind that I got a sudden image of what he would have looked like as a smiling toddler – and that put a grin on my face.

After I was done with my shopping, I went to the in-store Starbucks to get myself something to drink. There were a couple people waiting in line in front of me. I saw that the barista was manning the counter all by herself – busily whipping up coffees for the people who’d already ordered. And I came to a decision. I leaned into the people in front of me – a woman of maybe my age and a younger woman with a young child in her cart – and I said that I wanted to buy their drinks for them – that way the barista would only have to ring up one transaction.

The younger woman, Kelsey, said she’d feel guilty letting me pay, but the woman of about my age, Shelly, knew that I really wanted to do this for them, and convinced Kelsey to agree to my offer. By this time another young woman had gotten behind us, and I said I wanted to take care of her, too. She initially resisted, but eventually gave in and let me buy for her. I told them that I really needed to do this for MYSELF today.

And so when it was our turn, I stepped up and ordered two cake pops (one each for the younger women’s children), an iced caramel macchiato for Kelsey, and a “senior coffee” for Shelly to bring to her husband, and a hot caramel macchiato for myself. Everyone thanked me, and Shelly said she was going to be sure to “pay it forward” later in the day. It’s amazing how much joy I got from connecting with those women.

There were more smiles as I exited Fred’s with my cart and drink – a customer smiled and motioned for me to go ahead of him; a Fred’s employee who was walking out of the store in front of me, turned around and offered a big smile; another employee smiled and wished me a good day. These little exchanges – these little kindness in life are powerful, my friends.

I smiled the whole way home.

I walk with Love along the way,
And O, it is a holy day;
No more I suffer cruel fear,
I feel God’s presence with me here;
The joy that none can take away
Is mine; I walk with Love today.
– Christian Science Hymnal #139

I’m Glad I Got Out of Bed to See Them

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I’ll be honest, my friends, I had a hard time getting out of bed this morning. A message from a friend finally got me moving. “C’mon, Karen!” I said to myself. “Let’s go!”

I decided to go into La Conner to pay my monthly cable bill. Jeri was in the office today – it’s always good to see her smiling face. I paid my bill and then walked through the town, down the boardwalk, and to the Calico Cupboard for lunch. Along the way I took photos of the Valentines on display, and a little kingfisher that was chittering and chattering, diving and darting among the boats. I love kingfishers! I tried to snap some photos – but I wasn’t quick enough to get any really good pictures of him.

As always, the service and food at the Calico Cupboard was great. I ate my pesto focaccia scramble and drank my coca, while I scrolled through my phone and read my messages. And, after I paid, I gathered up my stuff and headed back to my car. I passed by the La Conner Retirement Inn and waved to the balcony where Mom used to wave to me. I felt her smile on me.

I got to my car and headed out of La Conner. When I got to Best Road I surprised myself by turning right instead of left. Apparently, I wanted to go to Fir Island. And it was on Fir Island that I found swan magic. There was a field of them there, grazing on the grass in front of the Fir Island Lutheran Church and a red barn. Perfect!

I communed with the swans for about ten minutes, snapping photos and absorbing their unperturbed peace.

I really needed the swans today, and the kingfisher, and the cheery Valentine decor. I’m glad I got out of bed to see them.

The Cosmos Sent Me Hector Today

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A couple weeks ago, when I was hanging out with Canadians at Peace Arch Park with my TRUTH JUSTICE KINDNESS sign, I saw someone with a familiar face grinning at me from the middle lane, and waving at me exuberantly. “Is that Hector?” I asked myself. But, “Nah, that can’t be Hector – what would Hector be doing here?” Hector is a former student of mine. I knew he now worked and lived in Seattle. It seemed far-fetched that I would run into my old student at the border to Canada. But a little later I got a text message from him, telling me that it HAD been him! How cool is that?!

Hector had messaged me out of the blue back in 2024 and we’d met at the Burlington Whidbey’s for coffee to get caught up – it had been such a blast to see him again! We’d met at Whidbey’s again in the spring of 2025 – and, again, that time with my old student had brought me such joy. So when Hector messaged me a couple weeks ago, it seemed natural for us to meet, again, at Whidbey’s in Burlington. And today was the day!

It was so good to see Hector again! Hector is one of those people who sends out ripples of joy wherever he goes. When I was Hector’s high school teacher our conversations were centered around academics – math, science, language arts, social studies, art – as a contract teacher at the alternative high school, I’d had the opportunity to teach ALL those subjects to my students. But, other than in religious studies courses, I’d always been careful about talking about God-stuff with my students.

But now that Hector is no longer my student, it seems like ALL of our conversations are centered around God-stuff – on God’s love and direction in our lives. Hector had an experience a few years ago that was profound for him. He felt God’s love in a way he’d never known before, and it was transformative for him. When he talks about this experience, and his journey since then, his whole face lights up with the joy of it.

He talks about forgiveness – how he’s come to realize that once you forgive someone you can’t take it back – it’s not like a commercial transaction – you can’t take it back and get a refund on it. He talks about the grace of receiving gifts. Today Hector bought my coffee for me – and that was weird for me – I’m used to being the one to buy coffee for other people – but the gift of the coffee was presented with such joy, how could I not receive it with joy? Hector said that God’s like that, too – God gifts us gifts, whether we think we’re worthy or not – and how can we NOT accept those gifts? Talking to young Hector is like talking to a spiritual Master.

Hector inspires me.

Once again, the Cosmos sent me exactly what I needed today. The Cosmos sent me Hector.

Find It! Celebrate It! Share It!

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My dear Humoristian hooligans –
There is still joy in this world. There is still beauty. There is still love.
Your mission today:
Find it! Celebrate it! Share it!
Karen

I set a mission for my fellow Humoristian hooligans to find joy, beauty, and love today, and then I went in search of these things myself. And I found them!

I roused myself from my comfy chair and went to the courthouse for the noon rally. I got there early and there was only one other person holding down the corner. He told me his name was Christian, this was the first time he’d been to a rally, and he’d walked all the way from the college to be there. He told me he was autistic. I told him I was proud of him for being there.

I’d come all decked out in my Seahawks paraphernalia today. This came in handy. At one point a man, stopped in front of me in his truck, gave my TRUTH JUSTICE KINDNESS sign a thumbs down. I grinned and revealed my Seahawks shirt and yelled, “Seahawks?” to him. He laughed and gave me a thumbs up . As he drove through the intersection we smiled and waved at each other. A man and woman gave me a thumbs up for my sign, and then when I showed them my Seahawks shirt they gave me a DOUBLE thumbs up. A sheriff’s deputy waved to me and gave me a thumbs up as he turned to go to the sheriff’s office.

The support and love the community showed to us today gave me hope for our world.

By the time I left, the corners were packed with people and signs. I told Christian to look at what he’d started. He smiled and said it was great to see so many people there.

On the way home I went though West Mount Vernon and then through Bay View and down the hill into the valley. And this is when I found the murmuration of snow geese. It was inspiring to watch these beautiful birds winging together in perfect harmony.

And now we’re driving home from the Illuminight celebration on the Mount Vernon revetment. The celebration was so fun! I bought an illuminary ball from Travis and Summer, the owners of Tr-Dee Arts; officers, there to keep everyone safe, allowed me to take their picture (I explained I’m a boomer and so it’s going to end up on Facebook, of course – oh, and I’m a Karen, too. They laughed at that.); I met Lyle, who’d made her very own illuminary with a simple paper bag; Tieron let me take a picture of him holding his instrument – he was going to be a part of one of the musical acts tonight; and the La Venture Middle School Marimba Band was fantastic! They played with such irrepressible joy! I had the cosmic good fortune to find myself standing next to Erik, the father of one of the marimba players, and I had tears in my eyes when I told him how much I’d needed that music tonight.

Beauty, joy, love!

You can find my video of today’s snow geese sighting at this Youtube link: https://youtu.be/rHAiIz7S2u8
And another one: https://youtu.be/_MFor8r-2hY

Go Out There and Work Your Magic!

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My dear Humoristian hooligans –

Today may your confidence in the power of kindness bring assurance to the lonely and scared. May your unassailable joie de vivre transform the bitter, the bossy, and the bullying. May the stodgy, stuffy, and stingy be transformed by your irrepressible good humor. May you bring laughter to those in sorry need of a good guffaw. May those who mistake meanness for strength be edified by your example of unwavering good will and courage.

Go out there and work your magic, my friends!

Karen

What a Glorious Day!

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What a glorious day!

When I woke up this morning, I checked my impulse to reach for my phone to do wordle games. I knew that once I got on my phone I’d get sucked into the vortex. I determined to just give myself some time to commune with the Cosmos this morning, to commune with Love.

So I loaded myself and my camera into the car, put in a CD of inspirational music, and headed up to Bellingham. My first thought was that I’d go to the boardwalk for a walk, but then it occurred to me that maybe I should pay a visit to Lake Padden first, to see how the autumn colors were evolving up there.

The autumn colors aren’t in full bloom at Lake Padden, yet – but the gold is starting to emerge, and the vine maples are showing some copper and red.

I walked down to the lake to take some pictures of reflections, and this is when I saw a little youngster having fun throwing rocks into the lake. I loved his rock-throwing technique – he’d wind his arm up – bringing it around and around – before throwing. I felt such joy, watching him. He reminded me of the joy I see in my granddaughter.

When I got to chatting with his mom, I learned she is a photographer, and we talked about photography for a while. She said she, too, had been planning to go to Bellingham, but changed her mind en route – thinking, like me, that she might see autumn colors at Lake Padden. It was cosmic that we connected today!

After my visit to Lake Padden, I continued on my drive to Fairhaven – planning to take advantage of the free parking before 11:00.

I saw some of my usual favorite things on my walk today – boat reflections on the bay; my friend, Mary; Baker Pup, who came up and greeted me, and let me give him a scratch behind the ears (I told Baker’s human that Baker is like the boardwalk’s service dog for the humans who walk there); and the heron in the tree by the boardwalk.

After my walk, I stopped at the Colophon Cafe for some brunch, and was happy to see Taryn would be my server today. Taryn is one of my favorite people – she’s funny and smart and kind and thoughtful. And I learned today that she’s also a photographer!

This kind of funny thing happened when I came to the Colophon. I didn’t expect the restaurant to be open because I thought it was closed on Wednesdays. So when I told Taryn I was surprised to find them open because I didn’t think it would be open on Wednesdays, she told me it was Tuesday.

Wait. What. Today was Tuesday?! But. I googled “What day is today?” and my phone told me it was Tuesday. But. I went out to lunch with my daughter-in-law yesterday and we do that every Tuesday. And I went hiking with Scotty the day before that – and we always hike on Mondays. So. Was I having two Tuesdays in a row? Was I in some kind of weird time warp? Or something? I googled again, and this time my phone told me it WAS Wednesday. Whew. Maybe because I hadn’t gotten on my phone since yesterday, it had given me the wrong day when I first googled.

Anyway. The next time Taryn came around, I told her that it IS Wednesday. She started laughing then, and told me that when she’d said it was Tuesday, she meant that Tuesdays are the days the Colophon is closed now.

Ohhhhh….

I had such a fun day today! I felt Love with me all day – expressed in the kindness and smiles and joy all around me.

There Is Magic Out There!

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We sit at a table outside the restaurant
and chat and watch people pass by
and there is magic out there!

A young man with a bright smile
walks by, holding a small bouquet.
I smile at him and point to the flowers,
and he grins and says, “A first date.”
“That’s so sweet!” I say, and his smile
gets even brighter.

A little chap of three or four walks by
with his mom and he turns and looks
at me and I wave. He waves back,
serious about our exchange – a little man.
My heart melts.

A woman passes by with her grandbaby –
she sees our grandma faces light up
and brings her little one to our circle
so we can share in her grandmother-joy.
She is not called “Grandma” she tells us –
she is “Nanna” and she is enjoying
her last days with her grandbaby
before he moves to the east coast
with his parents. All of our grandbabies
live out of state and we understand
what she’s feeling right now.
“Enjoy these precious moments,” I say,
and she nods and smiles and hugs
her grandbaby close before moving on.

At the table next to us there is a baby
in a stroller and she smiles at me and gives
me high fives with both her feet and hands
all at once. A high twenty!
Such joy!

And now the man who’d had the bouquet
walks by on the other side of the street.
He is with his date and they are laughing
and chatting and getting to know each other.
He sees me watching and waves and grins
and I wave back.

Magic everywhere!
-Karen Molenaar Terrell

I have had such a lovely day. I went up to Bellingham for my walk this morning and found new friends and pups and magic! Bellingham never fails me.

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I started at the ramp that leads to Taylor Dock and sort of wandered from there down to Boulevard Park, and then wandered from the park down the trail that leads to downtown. Along the way I encountered Eric, who I learned was a retired teacher like me – and we talked about the joys of teaching; I ran into my old friend, Dan, with his sweet pup, Jakada, (Jakada just turned a year old yesterday!); and I saw a doe and her youngsters nonchalantly criss-crossing the path in front of a bicyclist who was grinning at them.

When I got to the little loop of the trail that I’d decided would be my turnaround point, I saw a man gazing out at the water from one of the benches there. He was the picture of “peace” and I asked him if I could take his picture. I asked him his name and he told me his name was “Mark Anthony.” “Really?!” I asked, thinking of Cleopatra’s Mark Anthony. And he laughed and said yes, he really was named “Mark Anthony” and he loved having that name. He asked my name and I told him, “Get this – I’m Karen!” And he laughed and said I was one of the good Karens. I grinned back at him, and said, “I love having my name, too!” We shook hands – a “Mark Anthony” and a “Karen” – and wished each other a great day.

When I got back to the park I started back up the boardwalk, and this is when I saw something that made me tear up at the beauty of it: Three people were walking ahead of me on the boardwalk – what I guessed to be a mother with her grown children – and they had their arms around each other as they walked. I thought, “This is what Love looks like.” When they stopped ahead of me, I stopped with them, and told them how touched I’d been by the love I’d seen between them. I learned, then, that the mother, Oonagh (pronounced Ooh-nah), was up from Santa Fe, and her son, Ian, had come from New York City, to visit Annika (Oonagh’s daughter and Ian’s sister), who lives in Bellingham. I could relate to this. I told them my son and his wife and my grandbaby lived in California, and we’d just visited them a few weeks ago. I knew how precious this time together was for them.

I decided to take the steps up to the top of the little knoll that separates one part of the boardwalk from the other. I walked the length of the knoll to Thom Bishop’s bench (I’ve written posts about Thom Bishop’s bench before) and there I ran into a sweet pup named Sage and her human, Bruce, who was sitting on the bench. Sage was very sweet and came up for a pet on the head. I asked Bruce if I could take her picture, and he said sure. So I barked to get her to look at me – and that’s probably why she looks a little surprised.

Back down on the boardwalk, little Guiness pup brought her human over to say hi to me. Guiness put her paws on my legs and smiled up at me and stayed until I gave her some scratches and pets. Such a sweetie!

When I got back to the ramp, Oonagh, who was sitting with her son and daughter on a bench at the bottom of the ramp, called over to me, “Hi Karen!” I smiled at my new friends and said, “There you are!”

At the top of the ramp, I decided I wasn’t done with my walk, yet, and headed for Fairhaven. When I entered the Colophon, I was greeted by the hostess who led me to my favorite table in the corner. Taryn was there today – it was good to see her again. And I was served by a cheery server who was new to me, but fit right in with kindness of the Colophon.

Smiles and pups, new friends and peace. I find the best therapy on my Bellingham walks.

“I walk with Love along the way,
And O, it is a holy day;
No more I suffer cruel fear,
I feel God’s presence with me here;
The joy that none can take away
Is mine; I walk with Love today.”
– Minnie M.H. Ayers, Christian Science Hymnal #139