What Warms Us: Exploring Sweet Delights

I was recently part of a heated conversation about something silly: Hot Chocolate. This conversation started out friendly – with folks sharing their favorite wintertime drinks. A few people mentioned Hot Buttered Rum, and there were many coffee and tea drinks. And then it came to me, and I said, “Hot Chocolate.”  I was immediately met with curious gazes, and a few people said, “Really?” 

Yes. In fact, I have hot chocolate almost every night during the fall and winter. It’s an almost-daily habit from October through February.  

A few folks mentioned the sugar content. But most of the adults mentioned that they hadn’t had hot chocolate since childhood. That they would somehow feel embarrassed to order it at a restaurant or coffee shop, and they couldn’t imagine themselves making it at home. 

Which made me go, “Really?” 

Now, I really do love hot chocolate. I like white hot chocolate, flavored hot chocolate, with marshmallows (or without), with whipped cream (or without), made-from-scratch or a one-use packet hot chocolate. I’ll take it all. Thank you.  

You see, hot chocolate is a delight for me. During the cold, darker months of the year, as someone with Seasonal Affective Disorder (appropriately called SAD) – it’s these little daily delights that help me to get through what is otherwise a very tough time for me. It’s warm and comforting, and yes, it does in some way remind me of a time when I was younger and worry-free.  

If you remember, in my last post, I encouraged you to find (or re-find) delight in reading – but I’d like to take that a step further in this post. As I’m sure you know, it’s Rogue Reads Season here at JCLS, so we’ve devoted a whole season of programming encouraging you to find delight in your community and in the small things around you.  

But what about delighting in things you used to delight in as a child?  What is your hot chocolate? Maybe – as is sometimes the case with being a grown-up – you’ve forgotten or lost sight of it. So here are some things that can help invite some childlike delight into your life: 

It could be going around your neighborhood to look at the pretty lights. And instead of thinking about how much the energy bill is – just take all the colors in. What feelings do they stir in you? 

It could be listening to a favorite song on repeat. And yes, it could be a favorite song you have now – but what was your favorite song in high school? Do you still like it? Does it make you a little embarrassed now? Did you dance to it at a school dance? Maybe you should dance to it again. 

It could be taking your kiddos to the park and also joining them on the swings or going down the slide instead of cheering them on from the sidelines. 

It could be a cup of hot chocolate after dinner. 

Something that has been a hot chocolate for me this year (aside from actual hot chocolate) has been getting back into writing poetry. I’ve written a poem every single day this year. I’ve even started reading them at the Medford Open Mic program. Poetry has allowed me to return to a childlike curiosity regarding writing. I’m not thinking about grammar or rules – I’m just creating. If writing poetry feels too much, you could try grabbing a coloring page and coloring a little outside the lines. It’s a very similar feeling.  

During this time of year, focusing on the small things can be challenging.  We’re planning family gatherings, stressing about whether we can find the perfect gift for the people we love the most; we’re dwelling on all the things we said we’d accomplish this year but haven’t, and thinking about what we want to accomplish next year.  

But what about today? 

What can you delight in today?  

And if you’re struggling to figure out what brings you delight (which is okay – we’ve all been there), the library has a whole collection of books and materials and a whole calendar of events that can help.  

We even have some hot chocolate-themed programming coming up in January.