A Few of My Favorite Things . . . from 2005

First, the Not-So-Favorite Things:
Well, I think it's safe to say that work hit an all time low this week. (I might tell all later, but for right now, I need to play it safe and keep my mouth shut.) To make things even ''better" all you need to do is take some of those challenges at work, add in a some other frustrations from your personal life, keep telling yourself that things will never change, and voila! You'll end up with a nasty mix of discouragement and negativity. Yuck. Yuck. Yuck.

What do I need to do to make things better? Well, a magic wand to twirl and *POOF* would be nice. Since that's not so likely to happen, though, I'm trying some other solutions. One of my solutions is straight from my very favorite musical heroine. She suggests a simple, adaptable, foolhardy plan that is even supposed to work on dog bites and bee stings. I'm told that all I have to do is try my best to focus on a few of the many, many wonderful, happy, little things that make me love life. In other words, all I need to do is to simply remember a few of my favorite things and then, somehow, I won't feel so bad.

Frankly, it sounds stupid.

However, it worked for me in the past and I'm thinking it's worth a try in the present.

Now, a few of the Favorite Things:
A little while ago, Deena (an incredible listener, thinker, questioner, and reminder-er) thoughtfully forwarded me a copy of an old email I'd written. Enclosed in this email was a list of "My Favorite Things" . . . all the way from 2005.

• good, solid, non-tension filled but still-hard-to-breathe hugs; my mom's hugs; my dad's hugs; hugs from little kids with both arms around your neck and both legs around your waist (I LOVE these!)
• having people stand around the piano and sing
• freshly washed sheets
• staring into the eyes of babies; I also like it when they grab onto my fingers--they seem so strong yet you know that they're so fragile
• sunsets and sunrises; good ones that seem to be from another world (I like to think that they're pictures from Heaven kind of like in C.S. Lewis' "THE LAST BATTLE".)
  
• good guitar music that makes you feel folksy
• Egyptian licorice tea--this stuff is d-e-v-i-n-e
• hammocks!!
• raspberries off of the vine that are a little warm from the sun
• when my mom laughs at her own jokes
• when Galen tells jokes
• when my dad is witty and won't stop making puns (that are usually really corny)
• pictures--those candid ones that totally capture emotions or theoretical ideas; (ie. this picture IS joy, this picture IS uncertainty but courage at the same time; this picture is freedom)
• laugh fests in general; laugh fests with my family are even better
• exchanged looks without words where everything is understood
• driving down the road on an early warm summer night with the radio blasting and the car windows down singing as loud as you can (Galen and I had some good times doing this)
  
• "free forward movement" when riding dressage on Charlie
• when Charlie runs to see me, when he whinnies when I come, when he whinnies when I leave, when he rests his head in my arms, when he nuzzles my ear, when he twitches his lips when I rub the curry comb on his belly
• reconnecting with people you haven't seen for awhile (as opposed to just being with people you haven't seen for awhile)
• when pigs show off and seem to act silly
• chatting with Deena
  
• having one-on-one's with the INN staff (especially Hil, Anne, & Bri)
• listening to my dad's old record: Maple Street Memories (this is my favorite momento of my family before the divorce)
  
• listening to my grandparents tell stories of when they were little
• playing Ghost in the Dark
• green Thai curry
• having the top bunk
• late night conversations with my roommates
• being with my dad & Wendy & feeling like a family
• having Dickens, Hoot, or Marilla 'comfort' you when you're sad
  
• the first few moments after your last test during finals week
• the word "cozy"
• going to the INN on Tuesday nights and getting a million hugs and seeing people who are excited to see you
• Old Spice aftershave (my dad used to wear that)
• LORD OF THE RINGS (both the books and the movies)
• the smell of fresh peaches (I think it makes me think of summer)
• going on calving calls with my dad
• running over the Palouse hills as fast as your horse can take you
• dresses that just seem perfect and fit perfect and make you feel perfect
  
• when people run up to meet you (especially if they happen to be your little brothers!!!!!!!)
• a song or an email or a conversation that puts into words the things you feel but are inadequate at expressing
• seeing bears in the wild--this makes me so excited!
• my Grandma and Grandpa McGraw's backyard
• the smell of lavender
• the smell of horses when they're shed out and when they're just a little bit sweaty
• fitting 4 people in my mom's bed to watch movies
• Grand Teton National Park
• climbing trees
• the "guess what" game my Grandpa Bruce invented
  
• games of charades when people get into it and aren't embarrassed
• riding on the back of my dad's pickup
• good friends who you don't always have to explain yourself around and who are real and open and who love you even when you are having a hard time loving yourself
  
• knowing you've grown and changed and have been made a little more like Christ but at the same time knowing that it was Him in you that did it all

I find it interesting to see the favorites that have changed and the favorites that have stayed the same in the past 5 years. And, as horribly cliche and cheesy as it sounds, after reading it, I do feel at least a little better.
-m.

P.S. Thank you, Deena, for sending this to me.