Random Thoughts and Things I Love

I'm laying on my stomach on my bedroom floor with the laptop in front of me...wondering for a moment why I'm not laying on the couch, sitting in a chair or cozied up in bed. It is, afterall, a laptop - i.e. portable. I'm not sure if it's laziness (meaning the laptop was already on the floor and I didn't make the effort to pick it up and move it elsewhere) or comfort...although my shoulders are starting to get tired from being propped up by my elbows...so we'll go with laziness. Regardless, it has no point to this post...it's just where I was when I started to smell the laundry softener floating down the hall that made me think, "mmm...I love the smell of clean laundry". It's that thought that led me to think how great it is to pull out a pair of jeans, warm from the dryer, when it's bitterly cold outside. It's from there that I thought about how much I miss it being bitterly cold outside with SNOW included...which led me to reminisce about spontaneous sledding trips with friends. That thought led me to thinking about how much I love drinking a cup of hot cocoa while my nose is still cold and my ears are still pink from the chill, and that made me want to have all my friend's snowboots piled by the front door and a dishwasher full of dirty coffee mugs from an evening spent warming up watching a movie after an afternoon spent playing in the snow. All of these thoughts led to thinking about the things I love the most...people being at the top of that list.

I love people. I love spending time with them even if no words are exchanged. I love exchanging words...and lots of them. I love laughing. I love loving other people. I love meeting them, getting to know them, and making memories with them. I love people, I really really love them. Some are easier to love than others, but some just take more time to figure out how to love.

I love music. Not just any music mind you, but really good music...music that makes me want to sing at the top of my lungs in the car, music that feels like it knows everything I want to say but didn't know how to put into words or music that takes me back to a moment in time. I love playing a song on repeat because I just can't get enough of it.

I love dreaming. I love thinking about the endless possibilities of what the future may hold. I love thinking that I have no idea what tomorrow holds or the next day or the day after that, but that every day is full of its own surprises...good, bad, small or large. I love dreaming about the places I will someday see, the activities I will try, the things I will learn, the people I will meet. I love dreaming with someone that loves to dream with me. I love dreaming when I sleep and dreaming when I'm awake and dreaming about dreaming.

I love mail. Not just email, but handwritten snail-mail. I mean, really - when you get a hand addressed envelope in the mail that is card-shaped, how long do you wait to rip it open?! I miss the days of penpals and thank-you cards - or just notes to say "hey". I also love packages...even if I order them and know exactly what they are - it doesn't spoil the excitement one bit. I love tracking numbers that build the anticipation of the package's arrival. I love packages I never knew were coming but catch me offguard. I would probably love the postman that delivers all of these things if I actually met him - because he's a person (item #1) and he brings the mail (item #4), so by default, I love him.

I love Iowa. Say what you want about the state, but you won't change my mind. I think it's beautiful and I miss it often. I also love the Hawkeyes even though my dad went to Iowa State (which, by the way, he also loves the Hawkeyes). I love walking up to strangers wearing Hawkeye gear and becoming instantaneous friends. People that love Iowa love people that love Iowa. It's true. I loved growing up near farms, cornfields, riding tractors, ATVs and snowmobiles through the fields. I loved snowdays. I loved the meat counter at the grocery store...none of that frozen pre-packaged crap. You should visit Iowa, but take me with you if you do.

Last, but not least (and not even remotely the only other thing I love), I love the great outdoors. I love tree, leaves, fresh cut grass, snow, mountains, whitewater rivers, lakes, parks, sunsets, rain and the fact that the weather never remains the same day in and day out (or at least in TN that is most certainly true!). I love that the seasons change (and can't imagine living in a place that doesn't experience all of them). I still believe that my house in heaven will be surrounded in trees of various color, snowing in the front yard with a beach and ocean in the back and flowers blooming everywhere. Every season every day...take your pick :). I also think my house will always smell of cinnamon....oh, I do love cinnamon...

...but that is for another day.