Things I Love

This past year was one of great change for Charlie and me.  We said goodbye to my younger brother who died suddenly in August and to my dear mother who died in November after a long illness.  We said hello to our third grandchild, Mia Faith.  We left the tropics to settle in the desert.  It has been a year of gut-wrenching heartbreak and breath-taking joy and everything in between.  

When our world is shaken, it usually makes us sit up and take a little closer notice. We are reminded of the fragility of life and the preciousness of each and every moment.  We learn to appreciate the so-called little things that really are not small at all.  These beloved things for me include:

That first whiff of coffee in the morning

The blessing of running water and hot showers every day

Holding our newest granddaughter and being present at her baptism

An email from a friend with words of encouragement just when I need it most

A room where all the boxes are unpacked, furniture in place, and pictures hung

Upgrades on long-haul flights, or any flight

Friday splurge at In-n-Out Burgers with Charlie

A great book – this year, two favorites are All the Light We Cannot See and History of the Rain

Weekly family night dinners

A text message from our daughter, Kate, saying that she will stop by on the way home from work for a chat

Warm memories that take you by surprise and make you smile

Seeing our grandchildren for the first time in months and being hugged within an inch of my life

Shopping at the Container Store, my mothership

Finding my mom’s journals and notes

Mother-daughter outings more often than a couple of times a year

Cousins you haven’t seen for years who show up at life’s roughest moments  with hugs and memories
to carry you through

Sunday morning worship and the beauty of the liturgy

Pizza at Oregano’s, gluten-free now available

Shoe shopping

Arizona sunsets and rainbows, simply stunning

Watching my piano come off the container intact and nearly in tune

Snail mail that isn’t junk

A good haircut

Finding a foot spa in Scottsdale that is (almost) like being back in Singapore

Laughing so hard I can’t breathe

Watching the elderly woman with the walker make her way to the front of the church every week for communion

The list goes on, but my word count does not.  Suffice it to say that my greatest love is not for things, it is for all the people in my life. So as this Valentine’s Day 2016 comes around, I will pause to remember those who are no longer with us, and I will make time to nurture those still here. I will seek to make love an action word, not just today, but every day. St Peter says it best.  “Love deeply, for love covers a multitude of sins.”  And heaven knows, we all need that.