1,000 Gifts: Pt. 2

41. Those times you are sleepy and you're actually in a place/position to let it go, give in, and doze off.

42. Finding a new favorite song. 

43. Chocolate peanut butter no-bake cookies.

44. Perfect game nights with perfect companions and perfect snacks and not having to worry about being a parent the whole evening. 

 

45. Pasta when you REALLY want pasta. 

46. Rereading old favorite books.

47. When your have girlfriends who know you, flaws and all, and still tell you that you're doing okay and make you feel awesome. 

48. Oscar nominations and trying to get out to see lots of movies when it's kind of the blah part of winter. I don't get to do this as much as we did before kids, but we do it a bit, still, and I love it. This year we even managed a date night and went to see the Oscar-nominated animated shorts and live-action shorts, presented together at the Tivoli. So good. I love these things. 

49. The inevitable days in the middle of winter where we are gifted with sun and temperatures above 50 and we can just go outside and stand, barefoot and only a little chilly, and remember that spring WILL actually come again. 

50. Quinn's insane cowlicks, even when he won't let me tackle him with a comb and spray bottle to tame them. 

51. Succulents. 

52. Peanut butter M&Ms. 

53. The way Lucy compulsively says "I love you!" right now. Like a tic, almost.... just, like, to fill the silence. Like she is finally really great at communicating, but when there's a lull, she knows that something should come next, and her auto-response is, "I love you." Its so sweet.

54. Noah's drawings. Always. Currently, he is obsessed with Terraria, so all his papers (and they are copious) are filled with depictions of boss battles featuring all the crazy bosses of Terraria. He gets so intent, and puts in so much detail. So neat. 

 

55. New notepads and notebooks. 

56. Donuts with custard or cream filling. 

57. Fires in fireplaces or firepits.... the smell of woodsmoke and the mellowing out as you stare into the flames. 

58. 2:30pm. When Lucy and Quinn have had stories read and are both in quiet time, usually napping, and Noah is not yet home from school, and the sun is in a perfect spot over the back side of the house to fill the house with light, and everything is quiet, and I can just clock out for a tiny bit. Refuel. 

 59. Carpenters music. Especially if I can sing along with one of my sisters or my brother. 

60. That Joe does the dishes. Every day. Even now that our dishwasher is broken and he has to do them by hand. 

61. When a book makes me cry. 

62. iPhones. And iphoneography... just another way I can continue to take WAY too many photos of my kids and my life and the things I don't want to forget. 

63. Re-finding old photos and falling in love all over again. 

 

64. Julia Days. For the clean house, for sure, but even more for the friendship and the confessional and the inspiration. 

65. When I don't have to make my own food. 

66. Non-white envelopes when I have to mail something. 

67. Great sleep. 

68. My new 85mm lens and re-finding that bubble of excitement with a photo I just took. 

69. Velvet stage curtains, and how my kids are discovering them for themselves on Sundays after church. 

70. Pink grapefruits. 

71. Hearing Quinn sing along to songs when we're all in the minivan listening to our favorite playlists. 

72. The way that Lucy almost always skips a little as she holds her preschool teacher aide's hand when they walk to the car for pick-up. 

 

73. Cadbury miniegg season. 

74. Snuggling with a kiddo or two with quilts on the couch while we watch a cartoon or they play a game on the iPad, or we read a book together. 

 

75. Taking Quinn to the train store, and seeing his total immersion and joy. 

 

76. Tickling my kids and hearing them laugh like crazy. 

 

77. That Joe scratches my back every night before he heads to bed. 

78. Singing loud to favorite show tunes. Even better if it's with a friend who knows them equally as well. 

79. Good bread. 

80. Memories. Nostalgia. Natsukashii.