Love List

In honor of Thanksgiving, it's good to put energy into thinking about what makes me happy and thankful.

I love baked goods and hot showers and eating out. I love reading a good book and watching bad reality TV equally. I love weekends.

I love new shoes. I love a good deal. I love shopping with my mom. I love white wine and gin & tonics. I love having a clean house and sleeping on clean sheets. I love a perfectly ripe cantaloupe. I love movie theater popcorn drenched in butter. I love long walks and road trips. I love book stores and libraries.

I love fall leaves crunching under my shoes. I love the smell of spring rain. I love listening to the cicadas on a hot summer night, and as much as I hate to admit it, I love the first snowfall of the year.

I love the ocean. I love crashing into oncoming waves and letting them swallow me up. I love the sun sizzling on saltwater soaked skin and the exhaustion that follows a day at the beach.

I love the Christmas season. I love the bustle of the mall and the warmth of watching holiday movies wrapped in a blanket on my couch. I love baking Christmas cookies, white lights and crowding in with family on Christmas day.

I love Mia's pizza dough belly, her soft, dimply hands and her high-pitched giggle. I also love the first moments after she goes to bed at night when I feel myself unclench and relax for the first time all day.

I love the way good music washes over me and through me. I love cats. I love MY cats. I love taking pictures and the thrill of uploading them to my computer to see what I've captured.

I love my family. Dear God, I love my family.

I love weddings and babies. I love picking out and giving the perfect gift. I love to check out my husband when he's not paying attention. I love filling out forms and writing lists and doing puzzles. I love appetizers. I love a good coffee buzz. I love Diet Coke. I love board games.