Two Seconds In Heaven

Where would I be without life's simple pleasures. The one-or-two second happening that, for that brief instance, makes life seem like a treasure. Something worth hunting for and worth risking it all to unlock. Something with endless amounts of bounty stuffed deep within its perameters.

**Looking at a picture of Gianna and Nicholas sitting with Uncle Matt on a couch, as the rest of his family sings "Happy Birthday," not caring that Uncle Matt is turning 26, not 12, and that family sing-a-longs are better suited for younger kids, not adult men. But its that unconditional family love that keeps Uncle Matt going, and as they're singing, he's hoping that this same scene will be taking place on his 46th birthday.


**Walking into the front door of my parents' house every Thursday night and being greeted first by Zoey, the world's greatest canine and the one living being in this existence who is always happy to see me, no matter how bad my day was or how much stress I'm under, unbeknownst to those around me. She loves me with such a genuine conviction that I don't see her a four-legged nonhuman, but as an equal. A loved one, loved just as much as any other family member would be.

**Glancing into a mirror and thinking, "Damn, I'm looking pretty good,' knowing that not-so-many years ago the mere thought of a mirror reflection of myself would send chills down my spine. "I've really come a long way, huh? Yes, you have. Now look out, world. Here I come!"

**Tossing my DVD copy of the French horror masterpiece INSIDE into my laptop, just to watch the scene that always sends positive chills down my spine and gets me thinking, "One day, I'll write a scene just as subtle, simplistic, but simultaneously chilling and visceral" as the moment when the heroine emerges from the kitchen, bloodied up and covering the gaping hole in her neck with duct-tape, holding that homemade spear in her hands. Her head peers upward, eyes darting through the camera lens, acting as a cue for the most tribal and charging musical score I've ever heard.

**The moment when my pops says, "Don't forget to call me when you get back to your apartment" every time he drops me off at the NJ Transit station, knowing that he loves me so much that he won't rest easily until he knows for certain that I've arrived back safely and in one piece.

**The instance when my mom and I finish ordering our meals during our frequent weekend mother-and-son weekend dining excursions, knowing that the two of us have a good hour to chit-chat and bond. Even when the conversation is routine and hardly-revealing, it still feels right.

**Thinking back to my freshman year of college, that one random weekend I went back home to reunite briefly with family. My older brother, who I'd always thought saw me as a lame, walked into the kitchen wearing a St. John's University baseball cap. See, SJU was my school of study. He was so proud of me that he voluntarily chose to buy a cap representing the university his younger brother decided to attend.

Life has many more simple pleasures....I'm sure I'll feel inspired to add some more to this in the future. For now, though, these are some of the components to Uncle Matt's happiness.

Without each, I can't even imagine.....