Yesterday, in the mail, two cards were tucked amid the bills and junk. In one, I was heralded as family AND friend. In the other, nestled between drawings and brand-new cursive writing, was a note that made my heart leap and Hubby jealous: “Aunt Sarah, YOU ARE THE BEST! Do you like cats? Emael me!”
The cards were early by two days – not that I mind one way or the other; I’m just tickled to get cards from people, indicating that they not only remember, but care enough to send me a note.
So in honor of thirty years – which doesn’t AT ALL feel like a hill climbed, but more like a mountain to go – I have compiled a list of thirty of my favorite “best things” in life. It was jotted while juggling dinner, dishes, Toddler-tron, and bathtime, so it’s nowhere near complete. But it’s helping me remember, this week, that there’s an abundance, there’s a bushel of blessings, there’s a lot more to find.
- Being a sister-in-law AND a friend
- Being surrounded by family – in good times and bad, in suffering and joy, in summer and winter
- Blogging – an outlet for ideas and a great well of reading
- Early birthday cards
- A favorite song on the radio (it’s just not the same when you have the CD)
- Folding fresh-from-the-dryer-and-still-warm clothes
- Fresh coffee
- Freshly washed baby
- Fuzzy jammies
- His smile, his eyes, his way of looking at me and making everything better
- Homemade quilts washed so much they’re softer than fleece
- A hot, homemade dinner served around a family table
- Laughing so hard my sides hurt
- Long road trips with friends
- New books, old books, library books, any books!
- A note – “You’re the best!”
- Nurturing a new life
- Nuzzling under his arm
- Planning a trip, and then taking the trip
- Reading a book together – with a child, with a friend, with a mentor
- Recovered phone book from a demolished cell phone
- Sharing a favorite book with a favorite person
- Sitting in silence
- Small feet that still fit in my hands
- Smell of dirt to the backdrop of a summer sunset
- The unfolding of faith – digging deeper, finding more, discovering the joy
- Visiting far-away family
- Visitors from far-away (especially family!)
- Waiting up for a special visitor
- Writing it down just as I want to say it and having someone else know it
And one to grow on – the feeling I get in Mass, when the tears start flowing and my heart nearly bursts and I forget, for a moment, that I’m on earth.
Tags: Family Fun, Catholic, Christian
Happy birthday!
#17?
Glad you liked.
Hope this is one of the happiest!
love ya!
Thanks and thanks. M, I wouldn’t be 17 again for ANYTHING! I’m OK w/ 30, broken ulna and all. 🙂 Susan, I think it WAS the best ever. I was sung to by my favorite two sets of nieces and nephew and had a day with Bob. What more can a girl want???
Ouch! So sorry about the broken arm!
No, I wouldn’t be 17 again ever. Awful time. The angst, the misery.
And no, I knew you were 30. What I meant to inquire about was your statement #17: nurturing a new life. Just wondering if you were hinting at something. I’m being really nosy and will go away now. Sorry. {meekly backing away from the computer screen now.}
Today has been an OUCH, M! No hinting going on (though perhaps, in God’s time…we are open to more). I was referring not only to pregnancy (but certainly in part to pregnancy) but also the day-to-day nurturing of motherhood.