I vividly recall the panic I felt, as a child, when my friends wanted to play Hide-and-Seek.  The seeking did not make me as nervous as the hiding did.  I kid you not, most every time that I was waiting in my hiding spot, the urge to go potty would come on and I would have to call Time Out.  I wish I could figure out what it was about being discovered that was so troubling to me.  As an adult, the seeking is the scary part for me, as my husband is infamous for jumping out of his hiding spot to startle the seeker.  I recently learned of a different Hide-and-Seek adventure though that I’m certain would only bring me joy.

In Lincoln City, which is along the northern coast of Oregon, there is an annual Seaside Treasure Hunt.  In February, volunteers hide glass floats and glass sand dollars along the beach.  This is the kind of Hide-and-Seek that piques my interest.  Not only would the search be fun, but the item you find is a beautiful piece of art.  Plus, the glass floats and sand dollars aren’t going to jump out and scare me.  This is a win-win situation to me.

Even as an Oregon resident though, I know a trip to the coast isn’t in the cards for me this upcoming month.  But it got me thinking, why not create my own Hide-and-Seek adventures for my loved ones?

In my teens and early twenties, I was much better about leaving love notes for my friends and family to find around their room or home.  It seems somewhere in the last five years or so, I forgot about how great it is to surprise someone with a note of admiration and gratitude.  Not that your hidden item has to be a love note.

How fun would it be if each of us were as the Lincoln City Volunteers and we left a piece of joy for a seeker to find?  Maybe it’s flowers on a doorstep of a friend?  An anonymous note in the mail?  Or perhaps you tape a quarter to a parking meter for the next person, since feeding someone else’s expired meter is illegal in most places?  Better yet!  Get your kids involved!  My girls love to draw and paint pictures.  So much so that our refrigerator and walls are running out of room.  Why not add the words “Have a Great Day!” to one of their drawings and tape them to doors at an Assisted Living Residence (with the manager’s permission, of course)?  Or a candy box left in your mailbox with a Thank You note for the mailman?  The possibilities are endless.

Since it’s unlikely that we’ll be able to comb the Oregon coast this February, perhaps bring the spirit of the treasure of the Oregon coast to your neighborhood.  Be hiders and seekers of joy!