There is nothing so good as...
 

a perfect pair of pants. They flatter. They soothe. They are super duper comfortable. You want to wear them with everything. You can dress them up, dress them down. When I wash them, I worry about them. Will you still fit the same?!, I wonder. I panic. But then I put them back on and everything is fine. My goodness, I've felt this way about sweaters before. I get excited when I find a pair of jeans that don't make me look like a mutant. But slacks? Oh, how I used to detest them. And now I want to wear them all the time. I wonder if I can find this pair in another color.

Conversely, there is nothing so bad as...

falling down HARD while boarding a bus and looking up to see the bus driver glaring at me. Not only did he NOT offer to help me up, he didn't even ask me if I was okay. He just stared at me so that when I finally stood up I apologized to him. Man, I fell hard. Bruised my shin against one of the steps. Banged my shoulder against another. My ego took the largest hit of all. Once I was no longer winded, I was able to see the humor in the situation. Normally I laugh when I fall down (which happens to me a lot), but I was in shock and in a tremendous amount of pain. The audacity of the driver! That mother f&*ker. He's going to Hell. Well, I'm going to Hell, as well. But I plan to go to Fun Hell. He's not welcome in my Fun Hell. He gets the "Go Straight To Burning, Miserable Cesspool Hell" Bus Pass.

Tag...you're it!

Your bus problems always make me appreciate my car.

There's nothing so good as being alone in the car, parked in the right spot so the sun doesn't hit your black polyester slacks. You know, when NPR has such an interesting report on Day to Day and you'd rather listen to it than sit in air-conditioning? You're eating an In-n-Out burger extra carefully, making sure to not splatter your new pinstripe shirt, glancing idly at the lap mat they gave you as you listen to the radio. The seat's pushed back, wheel tilted up, seat belt unbuckled, all windows open so you don't suffocate. Alex Chadwick's pleasant voice guides you through lunch, and you watch people walking in and out of the stores in the strip mall, hear a bird sing in a parking lot tree near your window, catch the odd breeze. When you're done you clean your hands with the water drops clinging to your soft drink cup. You put the car back together and drive to work because damn, did it get hot in here quickly without the air on...

Conversely, there is nothing so bad as sitting in traffic when you're late again and there's nothing you can do but wait it out and oh the FRUSTRATION as the time ticks by but there really isn't any other way that would be any quicker, you just have to get out of bed earlier, but who wants to do that, of course at this moment you'd give anything to have gotten up 5 or 10 minutes earlier...

Tag.

There's nothing as good as a sleeping puppy in your lap - unless it is a sleeping kitty.

There's also nothing as good as driving down an ocean view streach of PCH on a fall day with the sunroof open.

There's nothing as the satisfaction of the plants growing, the yard taking shape and progress being made on a big project.

Sadly, all that joy can be interupted by the pain of a nagging backache.

Must be part of bus driver training. I've taken that exact fall and gotten the exact same impatient look. It's bloody awful.

There is nothing so good as sending the husband off to fetch fresh cupcakes. Go ahead, follow that link. And click on "cupcake pics." And keep in mind that these things are enormous.

And there's nothing so bad as having to wait until class is over to enjoy the sugary goodness.

There's nothing so good as seeing the light in a child's eyes after the Tooth Fairy comes to visit them.

On the flip side, there's nothing worse than having only a $20 bill in my wallet and shoving the "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" DVD under her pillow instead.
(she was still happy though!)

I've really, really enjoyed reading these. Prudence, those cupcakes are the Cupcakes of EVIL.

CP, I always love your writing.

Puppies, the tooth fairy, bus spills, oh my!

There is nothing so good as...the dream.

The eyes close, the breathing shallows, there is a distant hum and that world becomes deep influence of images and scents. Every so often there is the fable told of love found and lost that seems to bleeds its way into the slumber. Instead of the typical “going to school in your underwear” or “falling for all eternity,” there is the idea of a candle lit room, a glance across a crowded room or the utopian embrace of that someone who somebody has waited to meet for an eternity. The symphonic music that rises and falls as life passes slowly by and all choked sentiments are eradicate and the untainted feelings spill out unabated. They stand at opposite sides of the oval shaped room surrounded by candles that zig-zag across the floor. There eyes, unblinking focus on one anothers. The room seems larger because of the glass walls and ceilings. There is little expression as they move closer and join their right hands, their left moves to the others side. The eyes to the soul converge as one and the aroma of love spills into the air. Nothing matters but that pressure on the heart that means nothing more that both have been linked and will never be separated.

Conversely, there is nothing so bad as...

Waking and knowing it never really happened. Although the scents still lingering and the heaviness of the heart is obviously present, you spend the next moments shutting your eyes, hoping to get back to that place. Then spending the hours, wishing you were back in that place, and the next night, closing your eyes and simply wondering.

.... one on one conversation with a friend over a cocktail, when all barriers are removed and you open up your soul to one another.

There is nothing so good as being married to Crystal.