Happiness Moments: My M&M Addiction

I feel just like a little kid who walked into a candy store.  I think that’s something to smile about. ~ Brandon Boyd

So a new little writing experiment for the blog. I’ve been wanting to find a way to do some free writing as practice. And I’ve been wanting to capture the moments in my life that have brought me true happiness. I need that little pick me up right now with everything going on in the world and no real chance to travel. So, some writing about happy moments in my life, hope they bring you a little happiness too.

First published 10/12/2020

A couple of weeks ago I attended a work retreat, you know, education code for eight hour meeting and team building.  One of the ice breaker questions was to talk about a significant person in your life.  The person I chose was my granny and tonight’s happiness moment is about her.

My granny looking cool

The reason I chose her for that retreat discussion was that she was the source of my self-esteem and confidence in my life.  My childhood was hard, it was full of stress, danger, lot’s of confusion and anger.  But no matter what, as the first grandchild, in my granny’s eyes I was always awesome.  She always doted on me, always praised me and made me feel awesome.  Although it was a small thing, one of the ways she made me feel special was to give me small bits of responsibility.

Recently on Facebook someone posted a throwback picture of Liepshutz Market.  This little market was on the corner on the opposite side of the street and on the next block from my granny’s house.  The Liepshutzes were longtime family friends and even as a little guy I knew them well, particular the store owner Sammy.

When I was 3 or 4 years old, my granny entrusted me with an errand every afternoon.  I had to go get her daily Register Star newspaper.  This meant crossing two streets and buying something at a store, which to a little kid was a huge deal, especially since I would go on my own.  It seemed like a huge adventure every day, taking that quarter and going to the store to buy the paper and my reward, a bag of M&Ms.  I would then head out, bravely cross two streets, make my purchase, cross two streets again and return home.  Now I’m sure my granny was watching me the whole way, but she never let on and was always so proud of my independence and responsibility.  I love the memory I have of opening that bag of M&Ms, sorting them by color and then eating them with a cold glass of milk. To this day, I eat M&Ms exactly the same way.

This was just one of the small but amazing things my granny did for me.  And trying to pay it forward, I try and do the same types of things for my nieces and nephews.  I think I’ll buy a bag tomorrow and treat myself. ~ Rev Kane