A breeze blowing through the open window.
Rain pattering on the roof.
Fresh blueberry muffins.
Waking up during the night and hugging my fiance, and having him hug me back in his sleep.
Simple joys…
Drinking from a flowing stream of water: a fountain, the kitchen tap, a hose. You can pour the same water into a glass and drink it, but it just isn’t the same. There’s something about the cold water flowing past your lips and the feeling of sucking some of it in…
Another vote for freshly-laundered towels. Their clean smell and gently-warm feel brings peace to my heart.
The ecstatic trembling beauty of fresh green leaves poking their newborn way out of buds.
The satisfying feeling of knowing a skill and being certain and confident about it.
Seeing your friends happy in new-found love.
The closed eyes, happy noises, and total abandonment as you scratch your friend’s dog or cat behind the ears.
The pale blue of a clear winter sky as the sun shines warmly through the windows of the bus and you relax in its rays.
Flannel sheets on a cold winter’s night.
A really good bun: crunchy and crusty on the outside and soft fresh bread in the middle, still warm from the bakery.
The feeling after you finish a workout and head to the showers and adjust the taps and the first water hits your skin.
The shimmering pure colours of rainbows and other refracted light. Related to this, the fascinating speckly light of a laser pointer.
Sunspace, my mom used to bake bread all the time, and I was too young to fully appreciate the marvellousness of that. Buns fresh out of the oven, with butter melted into them - heaven.
A really wild storm raging outside your house at night (not hurricane or tornado level, mind you), while you lie all snuggly and comfortable. I love that.
The cats running to greet you when you come home.
The smell of Jiffy markers. MMM mmm good.
Spaghetti. Plain ol’ ordinary spaghetti, with a boring red sauce (maybe even out of a jar, poured without even heating, onto the hot pasta) and a pile of Parmesan cheese on it.
And a new toolbox for ten bucks that holds ALL the tools and supplies I use in class.
Walking down the street, past houses, and one of them is running their dryer, vented to the outside. Something about the smell of clean laundry and fabric softener coming out of a dryer vent just makes it seem like everything’s okay.
Listening to my 7-year-old play pretend with her toys when she’s totally oblivious to the fact that anyone can hear her.
One word. Actually, it’s a compound word. But anyway.
Applesauce.
The smell of rain.
Cold crisp days with unlimited visibility.
Twisting the throttle back just a *liiiitle *more.
When my husband grabs my hand; the feel of his calluses against my skin. Makes me feel all warm and gooey and girly. No other man on the planet can make me feel girly.
My daughter’s “trying not to smile” face.
Hearing my girls tell each other “I love you”.
Waking up with a noseful of curly toddler hair after a group nap.
Warm and fresh chocolate chip cookies.
A medium rare steak that I just grilled.
The smell of freshly cut grass.
The smell of freshly tilled soil.
The whine of my bicycle tires when I’m working it hard.
A school of bluegills, a bucket of worms, and a sharp hook on a line.
The moment when my incredibly stooopid and hyperactive dog figures out what I’ve been trying to teach him.
Time with the ManChild.
The moment when I solve the work-related problem that has been vexing me.
The adrenaline rush when my pager goes off and I have a fire run to go on.
[ul]
[li]kitty snuggles in the morning before the alarm goes off[/li][li]how happy the dogs are to see me when I get home from work[/li][li]snuggling with Himself in the bed when we’re not feeling like having sex, but not sleep yet, either, and we just talk and snuggle[/li][li]when I make an experimental meal and it turns out awesome[/li][li]watching those first tiny little leaves sprouting out on my maple saplings[/li][li]having a bird-feeder full of critters[/li][li]having the house open with a breeze blowing the sound of my windchimes through the house[/li][li]falling asleep listening to a football game or a race on Sunday afternoons[/li][li]hugs from my favorite little kids[/li][li]hugs from just about anybody I care about[/li][li]anticipating a creative act, like making jewelry or a painting[/li][li]actually doing the creative act[/li][li]putting together a really cool new outfit out of clothes I already have[/li][li]when my house is all clean and I have a whole weekend of guilt-free relaxation to look forward to[/li][/ul]
Pasta al dente.
Another child who “adopts” me at a traffic light/supermarket/crowded place. I must look like a quintessential Mom… makes sense, since the same used to happen to Mom; apparently she has graduated to quintessential Grandma now.
Unexpected compliments.
A complete unknown who says “good morning!” smiling like he means it.
The feeling I get on Sunday afternoon when I remember that I have that Monday off.
Likewise, any occasion when I can turn off the alarm and roll over and go back to sleep.
The smell of the Appalachians.
When I do a really good job on a miniature.
Coming in from the cold to a warm, cozy enfironment. Quite rare down here in SW FLA.
Waking up on Sunday morning and hearing the rain outside, knowing I’m all comfortable and warm with a snuggling pusscat and I have nothing to do all day.
The day when I hand in my final paper for my Uni course and know I’m finished. Free! Yay!
The smell of fresh-baked bread.
The smell of fresh laundry.
The smell of fresh-mown grass.
The sound of birds singing, when I’m laying on the grass in the park with a good book.
Oh, lots of other things…
Kitty kisses. When my cats give me a kiss all the problems in the world fall away for that moment.
The other morning I was having computer problems, cursing and threatening, and finally rocking back and forth in my chair with my face in my hands. One of my youngest cats came up in my lap and licked my chin as if to say, “It’s okay, it’s just a stupid computer. I’m here and I love you”. I laughed while she sat on my lap and I petted her. Then I told my husband he needed to fix the damned computer.
Scratching SWMBO’s back and hearing her purr like a kitten.
The smell of toast just as it pops out of the toaster.
Teaching children and seeing the light go on over their head when they “get it”.
That few seconds when I first step out the back door and the birds are singing in the trees and I can’t hear traffic noise and the air smells so good.
When I come home, the fuzzy black land shark is often sitting on the windowsill of my big front window, watching the world through the glass. I get out of the car and walk up to the front door; as I approach the window, I can see the cat meowing his greeting, but I can’t hear him on the other side of the glass. Of course, he doesn’t know this; he’s just saying hello. It makes me smile every time.
A Saturday afternoon with no schedule, a comfy sofa, a good book and rain. Preferably a cool afternoon with a blanket optional nap. Ahhhhhh…
Oh so many things, most of which have been mentioned already.
Some that I didn’t see mentioned (or missed).
Sitting around a campfire on a cool summer evening, talking and stargazing and maybe, if you’re lucky, catching a glimpse of the northern lights.
A pristine notebook and a good pen.
Coming home to my son throwing the door open and jumping around me as I come in before giving me a huge hug. It just brightens my day immeasureably.
Walking in the river valley, the only sounds being distant people, birds and squirrels, and the nearby river.
Catching a glimpse of the mountains in the distance, sometimes unexpectedly between houses.
A mug of tea nearby and knitting (or other craft) in my hands.
Finishing whatever I was knitting/crocheting/cross-stitching.
When the beagle jumps up in to your lap when you sit in front of the telly, and it falls asleep after 30 seconds. That’s when you realise that there is a purpose in life.
Am I the only one who read this thread and thought of “The Glad Game” from the Stewie Griffin movie?
Anyway, mine’s kinda gross. When you wake up from sleeping and go to use the restroom, and as you settle back into bed, realize that it’s Sunday, and you can GO BACK TO SLEEP with a completely empty bladder.
Yeahhh.
~Tasha