More from Vietnam

Happy Chilly Monday!

I don't know about where you are, but it's nipply here in the foothills! I went to boot camp this morning and even working up a sweat, I'm still cold in my bones.

One of the things I brought back with me from Vietnam is the confirmation that being happy is a choice. After leaving Saigon, we traveled north to Hue, Danung and Hoi An. This was my favorite part of the trip. In Hue, on the Perfume river there are boat cities. The boats that congregate are not much more that what we would call a canoe. Just a stones throw from one of the floating cities, are two bridges. One of the bridges is illuminated with multiple colors, all at the same time, rotating position all the way across the river. Beautiful just doesn't do it justice. So here we are admiring the bridge from the balcony of our hotel room, and the people on the boats, barely lit, are as pleased with the show as we are. Being happy and seeing the joy in life is a choice.

This became even more apparent in the smaller town of Hoi An. This part of the trip was more of what I expected Vietnam to be. The town was very much a village, very small, but jam packed with everything you could ever need. Except a hair brush! (Laughing!) Yes, Teresa forgot her hair brush and we looked everywhere and couldn't find one for sale. We even tried to buy one from several hair salons. All they had were the ones they use on their customers and they wanted $5.00 for one that looked like it must have been 10 years old! Finally, in Hanoi, we found one at a flea market (sounds kind of risky,huh?). The young lady pulls it out of the bottom of a box and says to Dahlynn and I, "You will like." She goes on to show us that it's a hair brush on one side, and on the other she shows us that the surface is rubbery and nubbed. She puts it to her head and says "Good." We look a little closer and see it's a vibrator! We burst out in yet another case of the giggles and bought it for Teresa.

I digress, the simplicity of life in the smaller towns made me acutely aware that these people realize they don't have all the creature comforts we do, yet they're happy. They were friendly, lots of smiles, and so eager to please us. I took a bag of my laundry to a little shop. The lady hurried out to me and took my bag. She held it up, weighing it, and told me "Oh, you like my work, seven dollar, you come back tomorrow." I said "Seven? That's too much." With a big smile, she went on, "No-no, 's good price. You travel, need nice clothes. Come back tomorrow, you no like, you no pay." "Okay, do I need a ticket or something so you know what is mine?" I asked. She handed me her business card and smiled. I asked her again a little worried I may not get my clothes back, and she said, "No worry, no worry, you come back tomorrow." A lot worried, I left. I went back the next day and there she was, happy, happy, happy to see me. She ran in the back room and came out with my bag. My clothes were clean, not a wrinkle to be found, folded, and they smelled more wonderful than any load of laundry I've ever done. I asked her what she used to clean them and she simply answered "soap." Laughing! I happily paid her seven dollars and went back to the hotel. Again, proud, happy people. Happy to wash my clothes. Happy to see me happy. Are we really so different? No, but I think we are pretty spoiled. We work hard, but we expect things to be done for us to make us happy, instead of looking to our own good deeds and simply choosing to see the good in every situation and circumstance. Even if the good is the ability to grieve and have that experience.

So there you go, find the good. There is so much to be grateful for in every single aspect of our lives. As my favorite artist Mary Engelbreight so eloquently says, "Bloom where you're planted." Have a great week!