Pizza at the wave pool.

July 28, 2021

Day 1,736

Thankful for: 

A day with family. 

The wave pool. 

Pizza at the wave pool. 

The smell of sunscreen. 

Dinner at my parent's house. 

The most delicious salad ever. 

Getting showered after a long day out. 

Watching a nature show with Tobin. 

A big mug of tea and Harry Potter. 

Rainbows on my wall.

July 27, 2021

Day 1,735

Thankful for: 

Pretty windows. 

The best little ones. 

Pools in the backyard. 

Pops after the pool. 

Drippy pops. 

Sticky hands. 

Butterflies. 

The green of the forest. 

The sunny spots in the forest. 

Turtles crossing the driveway. 

Salad for dinner. 

Mint tea. 

Big, big bowls of popcorn drizzled with butter and sprinkled with salt. 

Five bowls of ice cream. 

Odette; she's been my little shadow today and she never stops talking and I love it. 

Higbee. He's very sweet and gentle with Odette. He really loves her. 

Patty. 

Matt. 

Texts with Matt. 

A fun day planned for tomorrow with my family. 

The sound of Odette playing in the tub with ALL the animals. I loved to hear her little animal game. 

Pretty new things from my friend, Lorrie. 

Plans to visit with Lorrie. 

Plans to visit with my friend, Heidi. 

Plans for a big date with Matt on Thursday. 

Planning my dad's birthday party with the kids today; we came up with a lot of good ideas. 

The safety of my home. 

Rainbows on my wall from the sun. 

Nectarines. 

Throwing overly ripe nectarines into the woods for the animals to enjoy. 

The knowledge that tomorrow is a new day. 

I'm getting a hair cut tomorrow. 

Prayer from people who love me. 

I'm glad to call it mine.

July 26, 2021

Day 1,734

Here are the good things about today: 

1. Kisses and cuddles and love from my husband. 

2. Hugs and smiles from my babies. 

3. Walks with Higbee and Matt. 

4. Time with Patty, Armando, Casey, Sophia, and Odette. 

5. Patty, Armando, Casey, Sophia, Odette, Adelyn, and Tobin helped me move my things into my new classroom. 

6. Lavender oil. 

7. Salad for breakfast. 

8. Rain, thunder, and lightning. 

9. Riding in Cars with Boys. Good movie. 

10. Hot tea. 

11. Yellow leaves. Fall is hinting that it's on the way. 

12. Deer. 

13. Making lunches and dinners for my husband to take to work. I used to make lunches for Matt in high school, and I'm still making food for him. I love to take care of my love. 

14. Hummingbirds flying outside our window. 

15. Butterflies. 

16. Hats for bad hair days. 

17. New popsicles just waiting to be eaten in our freezer. 

18. Time to read. 

19. Phone calls with my grandmother and with Matt's grandmother. 

20. This space to write about the good stuff. 

Thankful for this lovely little life. I'm glad to call it mine. 

A quiet and simple life.

July 25, 2021

Day 1,733

     I watched a documentary today on white-tailed deer. At the end, a man said this: "I've often remarked to my wife that people will travel to Africa to go on safari, but here we have the deer. They're just as beautiful. They're just as interesting to watch. It is a real privledge to have them." I loved these words. I loved them because they're true. The deer are beautiful. I love their very black eyes and their long lashes. I love the white spots on the fawns. I love watching whole families of deer run through our backyard. I think I love them because they remind me of the quiet and still places of the world. Everything seems to move so quickly, but here in the forest, there are deer quietly living. There are mother deer standing while their fawns drink milk. There are fawns quietly resting in sunny patches of the woods. There are foggy early morning feasts of flowers and grass and fruit. Sometimes, it feels like everything is just too loud. And too fast. The deer are quiet. They walk slowly through the day. They don't rush things. They don't overcomplicate things. They are a reminder of all the good that comes from leading a quiet and simple life. 

     Thankful for the deer. 

Beaks and bottoms.

July 24, 2021

Day 1,732

     This is going to be hard to explain; I'll try my best. 

   

     The other day I was watching a short video online, and a person in the video was talking about the beak of a bird. It was when I heard the word beak that this thought came to mind: "He knows about beaks." Of course another person knows about beaks on birds, but stay with me...

     A few days ago, we were all at the pool and the lifeguard blew his whistle and said, "Go down the slide on your bottom, please." I had the thought: "He knows to tell kids to go down on their bottom." 

     It's always the same weird thought: "He knows about (insert any common thing)." "She knows about (insert any common thing)." It's always something simple like the beak of a bird or telling a kid to go down the slide on their bottom. 

     I think it's a comforting thought: every person in the wide world knows what the beak of a bird is, and every person in the wide world knows what a bottom is, and every person in the wide world knows about trees and flowers and animals and bread and water and hair and lips and eyes and books. These simple things are the things we all have in common. They are the things that we all know. And if we all know them, then on some level, no matter how small, we are connected. I don't know why these thoughts bring me a bit of comfort, but they do. It makes me feel like the world is not such a strange place. If there are things like bird beaks and bottoms sliding down water slides, then there is good. And if another person knows about it and I know about it, then we both know that there is good in this world. That is the part that comforts me. 

     Thankful for the beaks of birds and bottoms sliding down water slides. 

Glorious summer.

July 23, 2021

Day 1,731

     Thankful for a lovely day at the lake with Patty and our sweet babies. Thankful for sunshine, for cold water, for time to float around and swim, for sunscreen, and for sweet summer days. Thankful for dinner at our grandmother's house. Thankful for time to sit together and smile and talk and laugh. Thankful for the feeling of coming home after a long day. Thankful for how happy Higbee is to see us. Thankful for texts from Matt. He's always thinking of me. Thankful for another wonderful day of this glorious summer. 

Date/King's Dominion/Mama Spider

July 22, 2021

Day 1,730

     Thankful for a great day! I had a morning date with Matt. We went to McKay's and I got four new books, and we went to breakfast. It was fun to hang out with my love. Then we went to King's Dominion with Patty and Armando and their kids. It was a great time! When I came home, I found a cool wolf spider with babies on her back. Thankful for happy babies, for time with my man, for fun times with my family, and for the simple and real beauty of nature.