IF THAT ISN'T NICE, WHAT IS?

An excerpt from a commencement speech given by Kurt Vonnegut gave at Rice University in 1998:

One thing which my Uncle Alex found objectionable about human beings was that they seldom took time out to notice when they were happy.

He himself did his best to acknowledge it when times were sweet. We could be drinking lemonade in the shade of an apple tree in the summertime, and he would interrupt the conversation to say, "If this isn't nice, what is?"

So, I hope that you Adams and Eves in front of me will do the same for the rest of your lives. When things are going sweetly and peacefully, please pause a moment, and then say out loud:

"If this isn't nice, what is?" 

(Hat tip, Sahil Bloom)

I was thinking about Vonnegut's words yesterday. It was one of those "nice" days all around. 

Sarah's show choir was competing in Franklin, Indiana, just 30 minutes away. My younger brother and his wife were at the same competition to see their teenage daughter compete for Shelbyville High School. And Kiersten, my older brother's daughter, who resides in Franklin these days, came over to see both of her cousins perform. 

This was the next to the last competition for Sarah. Next Saturday will be it for her high school show choir career. Melissa and I are bracing for getting walloped by the reality of our youngest graduating from high school SOON. 

So all of that context made it that much more enjoyable seeing Sarah demonstrate such energy and grace and charisma on the stage.

My favorite number is her group's performance of You're My Kaleidoscope by A Great Big World - partly because the song is catchy and has great lyrics, but mainly because Sarah gets to be one-fourth of a quartet and even gets a 3-word solo. 😉

Gets me every time. 

What a thrill to watch your daughter do what she loves, and do it with such excellence, and do it confidently on a stage for all to see. 

And if that isn't nice, what is?

(Sarah is far left in the pink dress.)