Beautiful Things

Sometimes I get overwhelmed by life in a bad way but sometimes in a good way. It's always both. I've been thinking a lot about the depth and breadth of life- the many, many, many kinds of people, the many ways of speaking, the many scenes of stunning beauty, the range of feelings, the complexities of love. People are difficult to understand; our own bodies can be difficult to understand, illnesses and emotions so mysterious! I want to be a noticer (because the more I notice the more I can enthuse!). Here, for the sake of sharing and writing are some things that stopped me in my tracks and have given me pleasure this week:

old chairs from the roadside in my favorite color

searching for a shell in my collections that might fit my mother's hermit crab

the smile on the baby's face as his grandma dances with him. "Dockey Dock! Dockey Dock! Deddie dance!" (That's Hickory-Dickory-Dock, of course)

learning a tip about when to cut hellebores for a vase, and the dusky beauty of those flowers

stories of family love and hope

my new bed, my palace

fairy prints and gnome books

the shoots of bulbs planted hopefully in Autumn growing taller every day

kiddos doing their best to clap along at a gospel concert to raise money for kids with Sickle Cell Anemia

an afternoon of quiet in my own beloved home. i notice every detail all the time, but this combination of Sabbath and quiet enabled me to just see all the beautiful things. the messes are there, but I feel calm and can focus on the pictures on the wall and the curls in the spaniel's hair. 

reflecting on the many deep friendships I have. conversations of openness and humility.

the sound of my babies clamoring up to the door so happy to be home to see me.