This morning, in the shower, I had an idea to write about things I am loving right now. There is a podcaster I love who ends every episode by asking their guests, “What is saving your life right now?” The answers are as varied as one might imagine, from books to music to a relationship with someone to work, etc.
This is absolutely my take on that.
I hope you are inspired to take stock of all the things you are loving right now, too, because, let’s be honest, the world feels hard right now (and not just politics).
I think it should first be said that I love a great shower. I am a complete water baby, so water in any form, from a bath to a shower to the ocean, a creek, or a soft summer rain. Well, I am going to be happy in any of those scenarios.
I have a new body scrub product that is out of this world. I got it at Kroger in the pharmacy section. It is Tree Hut Vitamin C Shea Sugar Scrub ($10.99 for 18 oz.), and it is AMAZING and smells fantastic. My hand grabs a clump of it like a dozer, and I spread it generously.
Follow that with Nivea (which I became addicted to while in Norway last summer) applied generously, and you have a great routine for your entire body. Trust me.
Clean countertops. I am almost halfway through a one-year commitment to living in my cottage out on three and a half acres. I have never lived here full-time, so it is an adjustment. It also means that I am suddenly seeing every “project” left undone post-construction, which is everything from the previously mentioned seriously flawed heat and air system to organizing the kitchen cabinets to make them functional. My own honey-do lists are as long as my legs. Can you say overwhelming? For the past four days, I have attacked as much as I could squeeze into my waking hours, and I am giddy about everything I have completed so far. I know that clean countertops might not be a big thing for most people, but that is a sure sign for anyone looking into my life that I am happy and in a good place. LOL. Seriously though, I sat on my couch and stared at them for over an hour last night. An hour!!! In my defense, when you design an open floor plan for the kitchen/living room with what feels like the world’s largest/longest kitchen island, clean countertops are suddenly a bigger deal.
Organized kitchen cabinets. Mainly an organized butler’s pantry cabinet. I designed this piece and worked directly with my cabinet subcontractor on it. It is beautiful, and I love it. I have always wanted a traditional butler’s pantry (room), and I promise you that if I had had a family of my own with a half dozen kids, I would have had one. They are the dreamiest, and this is a mini version of one designed in a single built-in piece. I organized it all yesterday with everything from treasures to liquor to coffee and tea supplies. One of the three large front drawers even holds all of my cigar supplies including three humidors.
A freshly mowed yard. I love the look and smell of fresh-cut grass. My nephew mowed mine Monday, and I have been staring at it ever since. For the most part, the sod I had laid back in 2019 (post-construction) has held up well. Some areas have not. It is because of the beauty of the parts that I was inspired to add more (another honey-do project for this fall). Plus, my nephews have done a great job of helping me take over more area for a larger yard.
A soft summer rain. This morning, I was up at 5:15 a.m. (before that and before the coffee pot, but this is when my feet hit the floor), and once I had a cup of coffee in my hand, I slipped on my shoes and went walking around my yard taking it in, the woods, and moving my pots of flowers and plants out from under cover so they could get some rainwater today. It was scheduled to start raining here around 7 a.m., and it did. The softest, slowest rain. I sat for a spell in one of the rocking chairs on the front porch and pondered when I became someone who puttered around their yard before 6 a.m. with a cup of coffee, looking at everything. I then doubled over in laughter. Yes, I was alone laughing at myself.
Dreaming old dreams with people who “get me” and my visions. I have a rather large imagination that influences every area of my life, but let's be clear that I have squashed a lot of that in a few areas over the past four decades, give or take, and as I give myself permission to excavate it and once again embrace it whenever and wherever it pops up. Well, it is changing me, and it is drawing people to my life in fresh ways.
Lazy, slow mornings. This is a big one because I have lived a very 24/7/365 demanding life for every bit of forty-five years that did not lend time or room for lazy, slow mornings on the regular. Whenever I got them over the years (vacations or a weekend sometimes), I savored them, but I never expected, once I got control of my schedule last year, to love them like this. Never. When I was little (pre-basket dropping by my parents, for those who know), I got up really early naturally and, as such, was able to have breakfast with my father every morning. His work demanded an early start, and he cooked himself breakfast (a big one) every morning (around 5-5:30 a.m.) before work. If you were up, you got breakfast. I was the only one who did. Every morning, I would wander in (this is age three/four to eight so at least four years) and sit with him at our beige square table (I pushed my mother to hold onto that table as long as I could and have no idea where it is today). I loved those mornings with him. I remember his smile, his laugh, the food (he made the best gravy), and me chattering his head off. So, I imagine the fact that I am savoring incorporating slow mornings into my new routine is no accident. Plus, I really embraced them on my sabbatical last year, and let me be clear: Italy is a great place to re-learn the art of savoring…well, anything. The best slow mornings include strong coffee, writing, actually cooking my breakfast, walking, listening to music, and watching sunrises. Not in any particular order.
Nine feels like a good stopping place. LOL
The truth is there are more things and people I love right now, but this is a good list to share. It is good to remember all the things that are going well—all the things we love, all the things we get to do, all the things.
Why?
Because bad days happen, dire circumstances, tragedy, death, loss, and changes happen. Remembering the good and our why helps us keep going.
Not everything is rosy in my world. I have some hard decisions to make, unexpected expenses have popped up, and people I want with me aren’t. I have friends who are hurting.
That said, remembering what I love, no matter how small, keeps me grounded and grateful. So, while it might not be “saving” my life right now, it is making it better.
Did I mention I love reading everything you write