Takes so little to make you happy!

Just an ordinary winter day. Quite cold, actually. And yet… something was different - a bit of sun and a festive mood. The first day of the Christmas fair - one of the many opening these days. That was enough to cheer me up after a really depressing week with freezing temperatures and, of course, crappy markets.
Nothing essentially changed in my life, but just being in a sunny place surrounded by happy people was enough of a mood-booster. It takes so little to make us a happy.

See, after all the gloomy days, the sun is out again - I guess this is what keeps us going through troubled times, the hope that the sun will be back eventually. It never fails to do so… though you never know… Just imagine how scared our primitive ancestors must have been during an eclipse - 'what if the Sun doesn’t come back and we’ll freeze and die of hunger?'
The festive season, though a dangerous period for depressed people, is in itself a mood-booster as, for most of us, it evokes previous Christmases and the joy we felt.
Looking at the amazing hand-painted glass baubles is enough to remember last year’s Christmas tree and the joy of being with your loved ones.
I was alone at the fair, yet surrounded by people laughing and drinking traditional hot wine with cinnamon.
In the middle of the city, where people usually rush by without as much as glancing at the others, each hurrying on their way to work lots of worries on their minds.

Put a tree up and some wooden booths and the same space becomes a place to be jolly, worries discarded, frowns smoothed out. Due to a comic misunderstanding, I ended up laughing with a group of total strangers, who, I imagine, had come to the fair with their own worries. Who knows - an ailing parent, problems at the job, all the stuff they need to do in the run-up to Christmas. All forgotten in that moment of feeling the Christmas spirit…

It takes so little to make us happy! And it is really up to us to find these little things, to want to find them, because there’s always a choice - some wouldn’t even consider stopping to look at the Christmas decorations because ‘I have so many things on my head, this is the last thing I need’. Choosing to stay on the gloomy side of the street.
Sure thing, a few moments of joy won’t solve anybody’s problems, but at least they give that boost, put you in a better mood, a fighting mood. The 'all will be well mood’.

What did I actually do at the fair, besides trying to find the meaning of life? Well, not much actually… I did not buy new decorations as I already have plenty, including some hand-made baubles. And anyway who pays 20-30 Steem for a glass thingy? Hodl!

Although the smell of cinnamon was delicious, I didn’t have any wine, because I’m old enough to know not to drink on an empty stomach, but since we’re among friends here I will admit to buying some for home, to see if it’s any good. Which put me in a very awkward situation, as I had no bag to put the wine in and I still had to go pick my son from acting class. Felt very weird to be that mother carrying a big bottle of wine. What would the other parents think of me?
When you’re in the magic territory, the Christmas fair grounds, it’s perfectly fine to have a glass of hot wine, no matter if you have three kids in tow. The moment you step outside, in the real world, it feels a bit weird to be carrying wine around in broad daylight… I did consider somehow squeezing the offending item in my handbag and carry the books I’d bought for the kid under my arm - that’s decent, a mother that invests in her son’s education that’s praiseworthy… In the end, I decided I am that kind of parent that walks around carrying wine in her hand because I don’t really care what people think of me… and I was in a good mood!

Thanks for reading