These Are A Few of My Favorite Things

"Be sure to celebrate the many small things...bright days, good friends and anything with sprinkles."

                                                                                       -- Greeting card  

So, lately I've been overwhelmed by the tiny, miniscule daily things that imbue my life with beauty and grace.  Almost every time I say to myself, "I'm going to write a post about that" and then the time slowly drip drops away and there's no post.  So to make up for my severe tardiness I'm just going to list my favorite things.  Like David Letterman I'm going to do my Top 10 in reverse order. Here goes:

10. Daddy Donut Day -- John was on morning-get-the-kids-up-and-off-to-school duty.  This is not a strong point for John and so he employed the ever famous parenting technique -- the bribe.  Exhibit A, two dressed and ready for school kids at the donut strore...happy faces galore. It worked! Daddy happy, kids happy and mom was able to do her morning work without any phone calls. YAY!

9. Orange Blossoms -- Wish I could insert fragrance button -- like some ultra-cool Willy Wonka invention -- and you could click on the scent of my backyard right now.  Light, refreshing, fragrant and spring in one deep breath.  Go out and take a big whiff...hope you get to smell some blossoms in bloom near you.

8. Losing that first tooth.  There's nothing like it...wiggle, wiggle, wiggle...wait...wiggle, wiggle, wiggle...wait.  Finally it came out and the tooth fairy made a visit to our house.  Magical notes, golden coins and glitter...nothing better.

7. Sunsets -- every evening a show is freely given.  We have to make the time to stop and notice.  Every single time I do, I'm grateful.  I need more sunset pauses in my life.

6. White picket fences with white roses growing around them...whenever I walk by this house near my neighborhood I smile.  I know when I see a dream come true.  Someone wanted to be welcoming, formal, beautiful and classic while at the same time being quintessentially small town America.  It happened right here.  Love it!

5. If you live in California, you know about the Golden Poppy -- our state flower.  If you don't you may not get to see the bountiful blossoms that tumble out from even the most manicured place.  They are unruly, prolific, wild, fragile, momentary and glorious.  Imagine whole hillsides and valleys covered in them!  Breath-taking and inspiring but only for a few months.  Like so much of life, we must cherish them while they are in bloom and don't bother to pick them -- they wilt and fall apart immediately.  They can only be admired in place.

4. Buddy turned two just a few days ago.  Faithful, devoted, thrilled by your presence...this sweet dog has completely snuggled his way into the secret place in my heart reserved for unabashed, uninhibited, all-out love. I get to see him every day and I still can't get over it.

3. Creativity -- recognize the bread hook from our mixer?  Yep, it's alternate life is as Captain Hook's hook.

Dads + Kids + Tin Foil = Magic!

2. Being in a parade!  If you ever get a chance to walk or ride in a parade, do it!  Our town has the annual Picnic Day parade to celebrate our university --  UC Davis Picnic Day Parade. It is low key and filled with floats made at the last minute by various university clubs and organizations.  It has several different marching bands, Picnic Day dignitaries, rolling farm equipment, electric vehicles, fire engines, double decker buses, and plenty of unusual bicycles. It also includes the Girl Scouts.  My daisy scout got her groove on and had the hand wave down.  She high-fived her way through the crowds and generally worked the parade route like a pro.  She came alive with the applause and the cheers and had a blast.  As a chaperone I have to say that I pretended to be part of some royal contingent and did my own hand-waving...fantastic!  Cross that off my bucket list.  Next up: marching in a band!  Maybe I can sneak into the Cal Aggie marching band just in time for next year's parade.

1. My view of the world right now.  She's obsessed with this new found freedom...a bike ride, a moment at the park and time to just relax.  I have to agree -- it's pretty great. It's my favorite thing... right now.  Of course, tomorrow's another day...enjoy anything with sprinkles, friends.  Life is short -- seize the day!