16 Comments
User's avatar
Loren's avatar

My happy hour is that brief time in the morning where I have time to do anything I want before the world and work intrude on the day. I truly treasure that time.

Julie Wise's avatar

Oh yes those precious moments of solitude.

Ex-People-Pleaser Mind Soup's avatar

I absolutely love this take on "Happy Hour!" Your happy hour sounds delightful and much more my style than drinking in a pub 😂 My happy hour is curling up with some tea, a snack and a good book. Maybe even falling asleep if I need a little rest.

Julie Wise's avatar

Love it! Especially the nap part 😉

Nancy Stordahl's avatar

Hi Julie,

I like your kind of happy hour. For me happy hour is time snuggling with my pets. Reading a good book. Watching something good on TV. And if I'm in the mood, working in my flower gardens - as long as there are no mosquitoes or gnats!

Julie Wise's avatar

Sounds like happy hour to me. Yes, minus bugs 😂

Beth L. Gainer's avatar

Hi Julie,

I love your Happy Hour so much more than the ones at the bars and pubs. Those never appealed to me. I'm happiest when I'm creating art -- the peace I feel when oil painting and sketching cannot be compared to anything else I experience.

Julie Wise's avatar

Exactly that feeling - the peace and contentment, and absolute presence in the moment.

Elizabeth Oldham (she/her)'s avatar

My happy hour is the dog walk after work with the hub. For us it’s our dedicated unwind-and-together time. For the dog, she sets the pace takes her time.

Nancy A's avatar

My happy hour is hiking in our state forest nearby. Also sitting in the backyard listening to the birds singing.

Julie Wise's avatar

Oh yes, trees, birds, all of nature…

Stephanie Raffelock's avatar

Your comment about digging out the grass to put in a garden reminded me of my Grandma Julia. When she sold her farm and moved to a neighborhood, she was unhappy that the backyard was grass. Thought it was a waste. So, she dug it out, and put in rows of corn, beans, tomatoes and a few flowers. I spent a lot of time sitting with Julia on the back porch of the farm house and later, the back porch of the house she'd bought in suburbia. Reading your piece, i was immediately transported back to that time and the quiet being of deep appreciation and wonder. Lovely essay, Julie -- the name so close to Julia's, the sweet, sweet pastime of drinking in the natural world. Thank you and big hugs.

Julie Wise's avatar

Oh what a lovely memory! So happy my words evoked that for you. I think I would have enjoyed spending time with your Grandma Julia. My grandmother was similar - loved her small garden, fragrant with roses and lavender and lilacs.

Stephanie Raffelock's avatar

I'm happy that your words evoked that too. It was nice to go back there in heart and mind, and think of how much she loved and cared for her growing things And Lilacs. I love Lilacs . . . I always felt like they should bloom all summer long, though.

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Comment deleted
May 29, 2025
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Julie Wise's avatar

Oh your garden sounds so inviting.