The other day I was at a department store and I witnessed a mother trying to reason with her young daughter over something they would probably end up disputing in many different forms for the rest of their lives. The girl had a pile of nice clothes that she had picked up, two of them being dresses that the mother didn’t think she would have a chance to wear anywhere before outgrowing them. By the time next year’s dance rolled around, she’d be too tall. Willing to compromise, the mother said the girl could buy one with her allowance. With a smile and a snatch, the girl chose the dressier of the two choices because it was “prettier.” Her mother told her that it’d be more likely that she would have something to wear the other one too and it was slightly bigger so it would fit her for longer, but that didn’t matter to the little girl. She had made her choice, choosing the pretty and the impractical. Whether or not it would fit her next year, keep forever, or outgrow by next week didn’t matter. What mattered was the present, the now, and right now wanted pretty. It didn’t want logical and big picture planning; it wanted instant gratification –that buzz that comes with getting what makes you happy, no matter the cost, even if that happiness can’t last forever. Maybe that’s the trick to life –finding those little moments of happiness that will fit for now, whether it is a man, a job, a friend, a hobby, or even just a dress.
Little Moments: Dressing for Happiness
