to love

Lovely things that delight me:

• Letter writing at the kitchen window, with fresh bread, real butter, winter sunshine and a perfectly hot cup of tea.
• A new shag carpet under bare toes.
• A well-designed, well-constructed laundry rack.
• The early morning pale just as the sun rises: a white-blue morning sky with a hint of gray at the edges. The same as my husband's winter-morning eyes.
• A letter in the mailbox, and a surprise package from a generous friend.
• A tidy house, neatly made beds, the smell of clean, warmed by a good fire and sunshine.
• A walk that truly felt as though Father Christmas had come to break the spell of the White Witch: the earth spitting up melting snow, the trees shedding their great snowy weight with mighty showers and thuds and plops, narrowly missing faces and heads, the birds singing madly.
• Long friendship reconstructed over tea cups and table.
• A firm handshake and conversations in a second language.
• Gentle assurance from the one I love.
• Thoughtfulness and generousity at unexpected moments.
• Things lent, things borrowed.
• Food cooked, food shared.
• Gift-giving and prayer-praying.
• A neighbour who looks out his window and cares what transpires there.
• The softness of a two-week old baby.
• A willing, attentive ear.
• Spontaneity, a warm welcome, "fredags mös", good conversation.
• Unexpected invitations.
• Sweet sincerity.
• The wonder, humor, and intimacy of a first pregnancy.
• "Face-to-face" conversations on Skype.
• A friend with whom I can be honest and vulnerable.
• Waking up from a horror-dream.
• Things that are lime-green.