Little Smackerels of Gratitude

“I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought, and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.”-G.K. Chesterton

My gratitude list continues. I find myself looking throughout the week for little treasures of gratitude in my everyday wanderings. I put them in my pocket and write them down, like a proud explorer who has discovered something amazing and can’t wait to share it with the world. I highly recommend that you start your own list, writing down the wonder in the everyday, and then share it. I promise that you will feel like a 49er who has stumbled across a hidden gold mine. I promise to stop with the cheesy metaphors now. I know there are too many in this paragraph, but I can’t help myself, I’m a kid in a candy shop. Okay, now I’m stopping.

0044. Little boys who laugh in their sleep. It freaked me out at first, but once I figured out what was happening, it was really cute.

0045. The smell of cedar. Cedar makes me think of dense forests after a rain, and hamster cages. A funny but true combination of lowly and majestic.

0046. Scrap booking nights with girlfriends, talking about the various choices of edges for a paper cutter with people who care about various choices of edges for a paper cutter (such people can be hard to find).

0047. comfortable friends who come over and fall asleep on my couch. I refuse to think this means I’m boring, it means I am relaxing.

0048. wearing my husband’s sweaters: big and cozy.

0049. my husband buys a soda for me every single time we stop at a gas station, even when I don’t remind him.

0050. The warm steaminess of a freshly ironed shirt. I like to put one hand on the shirt as I iron, soaking up its domestic, comforting heat.

0051. Reading a good book out loud while the boys play at my feet. Sheldon chews on toys and Q is quiet, but I know he listens because every now and again he will ask me a question about the story.

0052. Baking. For some reason, when I have a full cookie jar, I feel like a good mother. Maybe the dentist would disagree, but it’s how I feel!

0053. Making a play dough bird to live in our colorful crayon tree. And a baby bird. And eggs. And a nest. “Cheep cheep. AAHHH! I fry away you scary!” – Quinten