By Elisabeth Strillacci

Some days I have a deep, aching need for some sense of home, and I will try my best to explain what I mean.

It is not my actual house, or the décor or the things in it. It’s not a location on a map or a favorite restaurant.

It is not anything tangible that I can point to and say “that’s the home I’m craving.”

It’s something more ethereal, something that comes on the breeze on a sunny day, or in the combination of bird song suddenly from the back yard.

It’s the way my heart feels watching our dogs lying in the sun in the back yard.

It’s the satisfying feeling under my feet when I shift gears in the Jeep and it’s a smooth transition.

It’s the crunch of biting into a spicy cashew and having the heat hit my throat, followed by the sweet from one coated in brown sugar, tasting that absurdly perfect combination.

It is essentially that “sweet spot” feeling you get, fleetingly, when something falls perfectly into place, or hits you exactly right.

These days there is less and less of this feeling. We’re so tangled up, so caught up in winning arguments, in having better or more than others, in settling scores, that we are missing these small, intimate moments of home that keep us grounded.

It’s time to remember that life is not big things, in the end, but a long and happy collection of all the little things.

A child’s first step or first word. A singular moment but exhilarating.

A pup’s first sit on command.

A paint color on the wall that, it turns out, is just right.

A cake that comes out of the oven moist and perfect and the first bite is heaven.

Sliding between fresh, clean sheets just put on the bed.

The haircut that looks like a magazine cover the day you get it.

The unexpected letter in the mail from a friend.

Little bluets in the backyard grass that give you a reason to hold off on mowing another day.

The discovery your favorite restaurant is only having their sign changed and is still open after all.

So many little things that bring instant happiness, a moment’s joy, that in the end add up to wonderful memories, and if you let them, a wonderful life.

Yes, this is that sense of home I’m craving today. So I’m going out into the world today and actively looking for these little moments, and I’m actively going to cherish them. I’m going to remind myself that letting all these little joys add up can and will lift me above the fray we can get caught up in. I’m going to let these little happy moments build into a lovely wave, and I’m going to ride it into tomorrow and do it again.

Wishing you many little happy moments of your own today, my friend.

Elisabeth Strillacci is former editor of the Salisbury Post. Contact her at lizstrillacci@gmail.com.