100 things I love!

I was waiting for my wife to finish up an appointment recently and I watched as dark, gray clouds took over the once bright, sunny sky and a silence fell over the parking lot. A few minutes earlier birds had been chirping and two squirrels seemed to be playing by a tree. Now, you didn’t hear or see anything. Right on time, light sprinkles came and then a heavy downpour. 

When I was a kid, I would’ve wanted a pair of yellow boots and I would’ve wanted to run from puddle to puddle. It was that kind of morning. Yes, everyone loves a sunny day, but there’s something great too about a rainy day. I grew up in farm country, I know that the crops often could use some rain. Most times we look past it, but kids know the truth, there’s joy in rain too.

Which leads me to a list I’ve been building. I’ve been doing my best impersonation of Julie Andrews in The Sound of Music and coming up with a few of my favorite things. I started going down this path after seeing a post on A Grace Full Life and the 100 Even, Even More Things I Love. When I saw her great list, of course, I had to think about my own.

Let me know what you think. (There’s no specific order.)

1. My dog snuggling next to me.
2. The look new parents give their newborn.
3. Two lovers who’ve survived a number of years together holding hands.
4. Calvin and Hobbes cartoons.
5. A great servant leader in the workplace.
6. Productive days, marking off things I’ve accomplished, could be errands around the house, or something at work.
7. A fresh journal. 
8. Seeing my kids smile.
9. Iced tea on a hot day. 
10. Reading a Great Book:
    • To Kill a Mockingbird —Harper Lee
    • The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn —Mark Twain
    • The Old Man and the Sea —Ernest Hemingway
11. “I expect to pass through this world but once. Any good therefore that I can do, or any kindness or abilities that I can show to any fellow creature, let me do it now. Let me not defer it or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.”—William Penn
12. 5 o’clock on a Friday.
13. A call from a long-time friend.
14. Working from home, instead of the office.
15. Getting into bed after a long day.
16. The hug hello at the airport arrival gate.
17. Your choice of pumpkin pie, coconut cream pie, carrot cake with cream cheese frosting, or cheesecake
18. Waking up early and realizing you still have two more hours to sleep.
19. Waking up and realizing that you don’t have to get up. It’s the weekend.
20. A notebook full of creative blog and story ideas.
21. Hiking in the woods, the quiet and calm of the wind through the trees.
22. My family all being home, us gathering to eat, playing a game of cards, or just chilling.
23. Hearing A Good Dad Joke:
    • “What do you call a factory that makes okay products?” “A satisfactory.”
    • “Why do seagulls fly over the ocean?” “Because if they flew over the bay, we’d call them bagels.”
    • “Why don’t eggs tell jokes? They’d crack each other up.”
24. The excitement before a long road trip.
25. Finishing a new, creative blog post.
26. A beautiful sunrise or sunset. 
27. “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” —Maya Angelou
28. Kids playing nicely together.
29. A frosty drink on a hot summer day looking out over the beach.
30. Playing hookey. Taking a snow day. 
31. Looking back over the calendar and seeing that you’ve worked out or ran everyday (excluding planned rest days) for two months.
32. A face-to-face conversation. 
33. Learning a new thing.
34. Watching a Great Movie Series:
    • The Godfather
    • Star Wars
    • Harry Potter
35. Laughing. I mean really laughing, belly laugh laughing until you cry.
36. A strawberry milk shake. 
37. Spending time with a group of friends. 
38. An Amish moon pie (sort of an Apple strudel).
39. Hope.
40. The Beach and the sound of crashing waves and blue water. 
41. A Philadelphia Pretzel.
42. The first day of vacation. 
43. Someone saying thank you or giving you a thank you note. 
44. Seeing a whitetail deer jump over some brush.
45. A cathartic cry, where you feel emotional about something good or bad and are able to get it out of your system and move on productively with your life.  
46. Hearing a Great Quote:
    • “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.”– Theodore Roosevelt
    • “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” —Reinhold Niebuhr
    • “When one door of happiness closes, another opens, but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one that has been opened for us.” —Helen Keller
47. A quiet weekend without plans. 
48. Earning both of my bachelor’s and master’s degrees (when 18-year-old me would not have thought either were possible.)
49. Movie theater popcorn.
50. Traveling for fun.
51. Ice cream on a cold day. Ice cream on a warm day. Ice cream any day.
52. My children being healthy and happy.
53. Trying new things. 
54. Being given a second chance. 
55. Giving someone a smile. 
56. Watching a Great Sports Movie:
    • Remember the Titans
    • Hoosiers
    • Rocky
57. A beautiful waterfall.
58. Memories of rocking and singing my kids to sleep.
59. “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.” —1 Corinthians 13:4-8
60. Seeing my kids walk across the dais with their high school diplomas. 
61. Seeing my daughter earn her college degree.
62. Seeing my oldest son graduate from boot camp.
63. Thoughts of my wedding day.
64. Buffalo chicken wings.
65. Paying the order for someone behind me in line at Dunkin’ Donuts.
66. Looking through pictures of my wife and me and our kids when we were all younger.
67. Family dinner. 
68. A well crafted sentence that I created and actually like. (It doesn’t happen often.)
69. Saying thank you.
70. Saying thank you to my mom.
71. A long walk with my wife.
72. Bubble gum.
73. Coming across a Great Poem:
    • “If” —Rudyard Kipling
    • “Funeral Blues” —W.H. Auden
    • “Still I Rise” —Maya Angelou
    • “The Charge of the Light Brigade” —Alfred Tennyson
74. A package on your doorstep. Hello Amazon!
75. Hearing a hearty laugh.
76. A text out of the blue from my kids telling me that they appreciate me.
77. Good coffee or tea.
78. Hearing new music that you like.
79. Breakfast with my wife.
80. Hearing animals on a farm stirring and getting around in the early morning. 
81. Hugs from all three of my kids.
82. Letting go of anger and frustration that has been building up and weighing on me.
83. Waking up on Christmas morning.
84. Having a long talk with my wife.
85. Listening to some Feel Good Music:
    • Three Little Birds ― Bob Marley & The Wailers
    • All You Need is Love ― The Beatles
    • Soak up the Sun ― Sheryl Crow
    • Can’t Stop the Feeling — Justin Timberlake
86. Getting a letter or card in the mail.
87. Earning the respect of others. 
88. Reading or hearing a good story that inspires me to write my own story.
89. Being kind to others.
    • “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.” ― Ian MacLaren
    • “No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.” ― Aesop
    • “Spread love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier.” —Mother Teresa
90. Helping someone I don’t know.
91. Spending a day in the library or bookstore.
92. Hearing my mom talk about her inspiring story about how she left the Amish church as a young girl.
93. Holding hands with my wife.
94. Forgiving someone.
95. Believing in yourself.
    • You’re braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.” —AA Milne
    • “Talk to yourself like you would to someone you love.” —Brené Brown
    • “Believe in yourself and you will create miracles.” —Kailash Satyarthi
96. Hearing my kids talk about their work and their dreams.
97. Charlie Brown and Snoopy from the Peanuts cartoons by Charles Schulz.
98. A College Football Saturday.
99. Going for a run and letting my thoughts wander.
100. Pizza and beer with friends and family.
101. The fresh smell of a clean car.
102. The rough, rugged pooh smell of a working farm.
103. New glasses (for those of us who need to wear them.)
104. Splurging on yourself in whatever way that you can.
105. Being told by someone that you matter and that you are special.
106. Figuring out a solution to a problem that had been eluding you.
107. Winnie the Pooh.

Okay, sue me, I threw in a few extras. Let me know what you think? What are a few things that you love?

All images by Pexels.