It's not often that you get to see a glimpse of a storybook reality. A picture of an ideal you might say.
One such picture in a day is rare, I got two in the span of less than twenty minutes.

The first one I got as I got on the bus this morning. I guess my first warning should have bin me making it to the bus.
I was late but didn't rush, thinking I could always take the next one. Might seem logical to some that the busdriver saw me coming and just waited .. Trust me, busdrivers in this town wait for nobody. There were just that many customers getting on for me to make it as well. But only just.

On the bus I saw a group of four: a woman, a handful years younger than me, and three kids. The kids looking to be of the same age as each other. Two boys and a girl. The first thing that hit me was their clothes, or at least their colors.
All had a clear prime colour. The girl in blue and the boys in green and red. It was the perhaps oldest story being played out before me. The boys vying for the girls attentions, without knowing exactly why. They looked to be in that pre-pubertal, age where the hormones are getting started to wreck havoc but hasn't come on in full force yet.
The girl was just beginning to show the promise of what her adult self would be, which I hope she will be able to live out to the fullest. If so she will be able to launch a thousand ships, well a couple of hundreds at least.
The boy in green, the calm one of the trio, had strategically placed himself at the girl's side while the more active one in red was getting most of the girls attention with lively chatter and a balancing act as the bus raced along. I could just make out the mixed emotions on the face of the boy in green.
As far as I could tell they were going to the town bath-house, and since the kids were likely of the same age I guessed it to be a school thing. This got me thinking of an ideal school-class of four to five students per teacher. Add to that the colours, the innocence and the budding love drama that could have come from any of a billion of books. Wouldn't you too smile a little?

Ok I guess I have to start the second one with a confession: I love cats. So the second one might be even more me than the first one.
Just after I got off the bus i met a woman on the sidewalk. She was about my age and kind of comely. But what was interresting was what was trailing behind her. Ink black and all soft furr, cute enough to melt icecaps, this cat made me melt as well. I couldn't help smiling. The woman saw it and smiled back. I gave her an indication with my eyes and she looked behind her at the little softness on legs. She called to it and it sped up to catch up to her and they walked along. It looked so natural, and more importantly - No leash. This the idealistical me talking, I hate leashes on cats. I can name very few things that look more unnatural. A dog can handle it, cats can't. That's all I can say.

This was two images of happiness early in the morning on a lead-gray winter's day. How could you not smile?

Yes, alot of it was in my head, but it still had an impact on me. A possitive one for a change, and to break the norm even further - I thought it would be nice to share.