Friday, November 29, 2013

my love list

Many moons ago I read an article written by Kristin Armstrong (yes, Lance's ex) where she talked about getting lost in her marriage. To quote part of it: "If you ask me today what I truly love, I can easily tell you I love God, my family, my friends... If you had asked me when I was married what I loved, I would have automatically told you the things that I loved about my husband..."

I found it intriguing and although I do NOT think I'm lost in my marriage I did think it an interesting exercise to write down things that I love. Things that are not connected to my marriage or my children. Just about me. 'Cause if a blog can't be self-indulgent, what's the point. :-)Without further adieu, my love list (with random paragraph breaks that have nothing to do with anything but more so that you don't get exhausted):

I love my wool comforter. I love it because it’s cozy and it keeps me warm but more than that I love it because I made it together with my mom from the wool of sheep that my father had raised. I love that I have friendships that have stood the test of time through many life changes for all of us. I love working on a calculator. I also love working on spreadsheets. I realize this makes me a geek and I am completely comfortable with that. It also means I’m in the right profession.

I love black coffee. I love taking a sip of it, the warm cup in my hand and holding the sip in my mouth to taste it fully before swallowing. In turn I also love chewing on a stick of gum after I’ve finished the cup to rid my mouth of the coffee taste as soon as possible. I love looking at cooking blogs and reading cookbooks and dreaming of trying out new recipes. I love the crunch of celery, especially one that has been sitting in a Caesar for a few minutes. I love my province and I love to read books or blogs or see photos or hear songs from people who love it as well. I love a good walk. A slow, meandering, enjoying the outdoors walk – by myself or with people I love. I love Christmas lights. I love mini white ones on the tree, and crisp, clean straight lines of coloured ones on people’s houses and fences. I love my Kitchenaid mixer and baking things that have brown sugar and pecans and butter.

I love that I no longer photograph in auto mode and feel completely comfortable adjusting the ISO, shutter speed, aperture, white balance or exposure to suit the subject or my mood. I love the goosebumps that I get when artists hit their harmonies bang on. I love how cathartic and cleansing a good cry can feel sometimes. I love bonfires and the outdoor sounds that lull me to sleep when camping. I love traveling: the planning, the packing, the actual trip and then the memories afterwards. I love getting new CDs. I love the anticipation of the unknown as you get the final bits of plastic covering off and pop the cd out of its case and into the player. I love end of year best-of lists that newspapers and magazines produce. I love potato chips.

I love witnessing kindness. I love farmer’s markets. I love old typewriters. I love the ampersand and I love when it is used as art. I love movie quotes. I love lemonade. I love finding a pen that writes just perfectly. I love Paris and London and Sydney and New York City. By nature I prefer the country but those cities are exceptions. I love used book sales. I love that there is something beyond the grave. Something better.

I love homemade noodles with a creamy onion sauce with farmer sausage and pickled beets on the side. If I were to have the chance to pick my final meal that would be one of about 3 different choices I have it narrowed down to. I love black-eyed susans and delphiniums and daisies and irises and lilacs and lilies and peonies and poppies and sweetpeas.

I love baths that are so hot that my skin turns red nearly immediately. I love anticipation. It’s one of my favorite emotions. Anticipating a concert, a visit from someone, coffee with a friend, a movie, a party… I love the box of 64 Crayola crayons when they are brand new. I love to organize and to plan and to label.

I love to be one of four children. I love ladybugs and dragonflies. I love standing outdoors in the warm summer night with my arms wrapped around someone special watching fireworks. I love checking things off a to-do list. I love cinnamon on top of the foam on a chai latte. I love snow resting on tree branches. I love raspberries. I love throwing a party, from the menu to the cocktails to the moment the guests arrive. I love freshly picked flowers. I love bouquets of flowers from a florist too but I am still more sweet on hand-picked bouquets from a garden or from the side of a road. I love wearing a loose dress in the summer and going barefoot on soft grass or sand. I love old hymns. I love trailers before a movie. I love road trips.

I love that above all else there remains faith, hope and love.