Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Sick of electronics

I suddenly became completely disgusted with myself. I had a moment this week when I realized that I had fallen in to the trap of "keeping up" on my dear friends' lives via Facebook, email, and blogs. Don't get me wrong, these are fun ways to post and read about the little happenings of daily life, but they are in no way a substitute for a good conversation or (gasp!) a hand-written note.

So, to all my wonderful friends, I'm sorry. And coming soon: a real phone call, note, or time spent together.

With Tom out of town for so long, I'm realizing the importance of my friends and family even more, and I promise to dedicate more time to you.

I love you all.

Saturday, July 17, 2010

Simple Pleasures

Since Tom's gone, I've found that a key to my sanity is to find joy in the simple pleasures. Here are a few that I've thought of this week:

1. The way a freshly-vacuumed carpet looks.

2. One-on-one snuggle time with Clare and James.

3. Enjoying a cup of wine and an episode (or 3) of BBC Robin Hood with my sister after the babies are in bed.

4. Crawling in to a bed with fresh, clean sheets.

5. Seeing Clare play outside in the sprinklers in her swimsuit all by herself.

6. The smell of clean floors (thanks, Shan!).

7. The quiet of the early mornings before babies are awake, when I have time to read, drink a cup of coffee, and do my morning meditation.

8. The feeling of sore muscles. I figure that if it hurts, it means it's getting smaller. :)

9. Hearing Clare and James giggling like crazy as they play together on the floor.

10. James's 2-tooth grins and Clare's hugs and kisses.

11. Video-chatting with Tom. I'm so thankful that technology allows us to hear and see him even from so far away.

12. Eating/drinking/cooking with fresh herbs from my back deck. This week we've used our basil, rosemary, mint, and lemon thyme. It's so awesome.

13. The generosity and friendliness of our neighbors. The other day one came over and gave us an enormous bag of freshly-picked rainier cherries from a tree in their back yard, and today our next-door neighbor gave us a couple of fresh crabs that they caught yesterday. Sooooo looking forward to eating those tonight! What a treat.

What are some of your simple pleasures?