It's the simple things

I love this time of the year when the air is so fresh, while the sun is still warm and the leaves are turning golden bronze and rusty red, and there are little berries popping up on bushes everywhere.  I love filling my lungs full, and letting it out slowly, feeling the well-being that surrounds me.  I love walking down the driveway, hearing the crunch of the dry fallen leaves under my feet.  I love the way our tall grasses dance in the wind, with their “tails” glistening in the sun.  I love that it’s the end of a season and the beginning of another.  I love reveling in the variety of the gourds and the pumpkins and the array of colorful mums, all of them inspiring me to decorate our porch with them.  I love the smell of the pumpkin candles that I so carefully put away every year, only to take them out in the fall, so that I can cherish them like they’re brand new again.  I love looking out into the mountain range from our front porch, getting absorbed into the depths and the textures of the colors and the shapes that the trees on the mountains form, far off in the distance.  There are so many things in a day that thrill and delight me.  Like the cardinal that came and perched itself on our bird feeder this morning as I sat on our porch, basking in the sunshine.  And the hawk that came to say “good morning” as he circled overhead, his wings spread, flying free, finding the updraft to take him to higher and higher elevations.  Or the deer in our yard, coming to pick up the apples that we left for them, and as they see us observing them, staying a little longer because they know we mean them no harm.  I love the stability of the ground beneath my feet and the trees that majestically stand upon it, offering beauty and texture and wonder to my world.  I love holding hands with Franki…feeling her tiny, soft hand in mine; or sharing a laugh with my luv, Jack.  I love all of the birthday wishes I received yesterday that came in so many ways – text, email, Facebook, telephone, from family and friends who enhance my life and whom I have the privilege to love; what a delight to be in touch with so many people in one day!  I love doing my list of things I appreciate before going off to sleep at night.  I love the softness of my sheets and the coziness of my blankets and snuggling in to bed as I lay my head comfortably on my pillow.  I love washing my face and putting on my perfume, appreciating the lingering undertones of vanilla and grapefruit.  I love my fuzzy socks (which by the way, were a birthday present) because they’re so warm and cozy and they feel so good on my feet.  And I love petting Schatzchen, our dog, showering him with love and attention and appreciation.  There are so many things to love in my day.  The list is endless and growing.  And what I find, are that the things I love most, are those simple things; they are things that are available to me, and in my reality, every day.  They’re not things I have to go out and buy and they’re not things that I don’t have that I want, they’re things that I can just be present to every day and take the time to appreciate them, even for just a second.  What are the things in your day that you love and appreciate the most?