InDepthNH.org (https://indepthnh.org/series/joyful-musings/page/6)
Susan Dromey Heeter is a writer from Dover who recently let her hair go au natural white. Writing has been her passion since her English majoring days at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. Dromey Heeter has lived in The Netherlands, Alaska and currently basks in all things New England, including the frigid winters. An avid swimmer, Dromey Heeter’s great passion is to bring back body surfing as most children have no idea how to ride waves without ridiculous boogie boards.
I muse joyfully on moment’s from Friday night’s rally at Dover’s Henry Law Park where those gathered were asked to provide one word that captured their reaction, their why for coming out to discuss, to listen, to react to the overturning of Roe Vs. Wade.
And mercifully, every year for decades, I have this one moment of joy so pure, I pause and not only muse joyfully, I exhale, I feel as though I am an eight year old, I literally jump for happiness so glorious I weep.
My mother and aunts all received degrees from the College of our Lady of the Elms. My grandmother was adamant her girls be educated, informed, prepared for a world dominated by fools, by dopes who hoped to believe their own foolish lies.
When the world is too much with me, I return to the basics. I hike in the woods with my ever buddy Bennie. I knit. I read autobiographies.
First off, wisdom. Floss your teeth. And do it before you brush them so it will feel wrong not to brush your teeth without having first flossed them. Your sixty year old gums will thank you and you will not regret going to the dentist.
It’s Joyful Musings Cali version, amigos – I’m writing this from Southern California where ideally I am hid I celebrate my baby’s hard work, passion and dedication. The truth is, when I come to the West Coast, I always feel like an elderly pilgrim, a yokel, the student who yells “you forgot to give the quiz, Ms. Heeter!”
“Night water is the best!” he remarked and I muse joyfully on “night water” – on things that bring us simple joys, on moments that quench our thirst, literally and figuratively.
Last week I opened a trunk that had not seen the light of day since the late 90s. In the spirit of moving houses, packing and sorting, I opted to take this trunk with me as I traveled down to the south shore of Massachusetts.
Today I muse joyfully on the adverb, “clearly.” I love when people use this word, say things like, “clearly, I am mad” or “clearly, you are confused.
