Heaven on Earth

That old saw, "Money can't buy happiness," is so wrong! I'm guessing it was invented to make people without money feel better about their poverty. But I just found out for sure that money actually does buy happiness, and probably the more money, the more happiness.

Most Saturdays my husband and I hang around the house doing yard work, or else go for a hike somewhere we've hiked a dozen times already, or maybe take a drive to someplace pretty. It's nice, and certainly much better than being in surgery or homeless somewhere, I readily admit. But yesterday we spent the day with friends on their beautiful sailboat, and besides it being alternately thrilling and exciting and peaceful and exhilarating, the experience was also quite eye-opening.

For example, the wind took us far out into the Casco Bay and we saw places we never even knew existed. We were treated to spectacular vistas worthy of a European vacation. We also soon understood that many, many people with expendable income own sailboats -- and power boats and even yachts -- and spend their weekends cavorting in glorious nature, dropping anchor on private islands where they might have built a beautiful vacation home, or in secluded coves unreachable except by boat. Everyone we passed waved and smiled enthusiastically and seemed quite happy to be alive. In fact, much happier than the people we see in the garden shop when we go for extra mulch. They never wave or smile. But I bet they would if they had a sailboat.