Simple Joys in Life

When someone asks me what I value most, what would be the first thing that I say? Most people today would start off by saying that they value all of their expensive items. Why do they do this, though? Maybe it is because of the economy, and money is more important to people. Or, is it possible that people just do not take the chance to enjoy time with each other anymore?

I get to practice early just to make sure I have time to shoot around before everyone else arrives. I pull my soccer ball out of my bright orange bag. For a moment, I look at all of its imperfections. The rips in its skin, the grass stains, the faded Sharpie letters spelling out my name. I drop it on the wet ground and tap it forward with the toe of my cleat. I watch as the tiger-like stars roll over each other on top of the yellowed backdrop. The ball skids to a stop dew covered grass.

As I strike the ball, all I have to think about is hitting the ball as hard as I can. Every emotion that might have been in me early is gone, and all that I need to worry about is the goal and my ball going in it. I feel the impact on my left foot and stumble forward as I watch the perfectly spherical object float through the air and finally hits the back of the goal. All of a sudden, all of my ball’s imperfections are lost in the sea of waves the net makes as the ball takes the air out of it. My ball probably cost me about twenty dollars, but the amount of stress and emotion that I have taken out on it, along with how much I use it, makes it worth 200 dollars to me!

It is early Christmas morning, and I can here my little brother rifling around in his stocking. I slowly and quietly crawl out of bed making sure not to wake anyone else, and as I peek my head into the living room, the first thing I see is the Christmas tree and below it, all of our presents. And there is my brother, looking at me like I caught him red-handed, glimpsing at what was in his stocking. Soon after, everyone else wakes up, and my brother begs my parents to let him open his stocking, even though he already knows everything inside of it. After my parents get their coffee, they let us start opening presents. My brother always finishes opening his first, and is always ready to help others open their presents, too.

Once we all open our presents, it quickly turns into chaos around the house. We hastily eat our Christmas breakfast, cinnamon rolls, and then we all get ready for Christmas to be celebrated at our house. It is the one time of the year we can always count on where all of our family comes. Some come all the way from Colorado, while others live right here in South Hadley. As we run around the house, you can smell the ham and turkey in the oven, along with the tortellini soup being made.

Once every room is cleaned to my dad’s ­­­expectations, we are ready to celebrate. The most exciting part of Christmas is seeing family members that we have not seen in almost a whole year. We all crowd around the long table and enjoy our dinner. Nobody minds how close we are at the table because we are all enjoying ourselves and having a good time. When it’s time to open presents, we all do it at once, but the kids are the ones that get the most attention. After, we all settle down again and just catch up with each other because we know that the next time we see each other will probably be for the next Christmas.

I value both my soccer ball and Christmas day very much. They both allow me to relax and just be myself. My soccer ball allows me to relax by myself and just take a break from everyday life, but Christmas day is a day that I can enjoy with my family and I always know that even though there is so much chaos in the morning, it will be a relaxing day. I am not sure which one I would choose over the other, but I do know that I value both of them very much.