There I was on a beautiful Sunday morning, sitting in church and only halfway listening as Pastor Merritt talked about finding joy in our everyday lives. A nice idea, sure, but according to the mental list I was making, I would have to schedule joy for another day. I just had too much to do.

There was laundry and cleaning house and oh yeah, the fridge was looking pretty empty. And then my brain fast-forwarded to Monday and I started thinking about my work projects. There was the programme guide to edit, the newsletter to write, and copy for that new direct mail piece was due. Maybe after I completed my home errands, I’d log on the computer and get a jump on tomorrow’s tasks.

But first, on my way home, I stopped at Borders to use the gift certificate that was burning a hole in my pocket. And that’s when I came upon an unexpected snippet of joy: a CD reminiscent of my childhood — the definitive collection of Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass.

In the 60s, when my younger sister, Jenny, and I were pig-tailed tykes, the tunes of trumpeter Herb Alpert played constantly in our home. Our prepubescent tastes leaned towards The Monkees, but with just one record player in the house, our parents had the final say. In spite of my preferences, Herb Alpert still managed to infiltrate my brain because as a young adult, two of my favourite bands were those with strong horn sections: Earth, Wind & Fire and Chicago. And always, Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass. — Beliefnet.com