Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Ten Things I Love; No, Eleven



It is the dark of the moon … the middle of the night … and I am awake. AWAKE.
A.W.A.K.E.
As if I’ve had six-cups-of-coffee awake.  (Now I get the "eyes wide shut" thing.)

This is not usually a problem for me. I don’t need as much sleep as some people, so I tend to burn the midnight oil AND get up early. That's normally not a problem.  I'm comfortable with it ... most of the time.

Not so much tonight.

I went to bed and went to sleep. Then I woke up, and then I tossed and turned, making certain I stayed even more awake. Ever noticed how many body parts ache when you know you should be asleep? Vicious cycle!

So. Here I am at the computer thinking about Things and making a list. Let's view it as a form of “counting my blessings, instead of sheep” kind of thing.
                                                                                     Ten Things

  1. Coffee; really good coffee. (Okay, it doesn’t have to be that good.)
  2. Early mornings in the rocker on the front porch or in the Adirondack chairs by the pool, listening to birdsong, to crickets, to frogs, the owl who lives in the woods across the street. (With coffee … )
  3. Breezes.  Warm ones. Cool ones. If they gently stir the air, then I enjoy them on my face. 
  4. Crossword puzzles; the moderately difficult ones most of the time; really difficult ones some of the time and the feeling of accomplishment that comes with completion. The L.A. Times crossword is my favorite.
  5. Walking. A daily walk with a friend is a “feel good” on so many levels; conversation, exercise (insert pats on the back), and country scenery.
  6. A good book; reading fiction every day is necessary! I love words and the visual image they conjure up. I read character-driven romances, plot-driven murder mysteries, paranormal and fantasy novels with either, historical fiction, a tiny bit of sci-fi, and all genres of YA fiction because it is just so good.  And THE Good Book (non-fiction J of course). Hey, I am eclectic.
  7. Music; the kind that stirs me and causes goose bumps, either with provocative lyrics or with heart-stirring melody. I like haunting minor keys: Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah and Dance Me to the End of Love, Ravel’s Bolero, the trumpet solo from Rio Bravo , the theme from Exodus, The Sting, Chariots of Fire, 2001 A Space Odyssey
  8. Visually pleasing rooms; I feel a sense of contentment from pleasant surroundings, from rooms filled with color and good design and objects I have reason to love.  
  9. Flowers and foliage; the satisfaction that comes from color and texture and nature; the pleasure of seeing growth, but mostly the visual assault on the senses.
  10. The beach, where I enjoy some combination of the things above. I love the sand, the waves, the shells, the heat, the color and especially, the Huge-ness of God’s creation.

    And Eleven.

I’m so thankful and so very grateful for the blessings of a loving family and the close friends with whom I share my ten loves.

Sleepy …

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