Happy Thursday, people.  I’m not posting this in the morning because, wait for it…my baby girl slept through the night until 5:15, fed and slept again until 7:15!  This after a few nights of waking every 1-2 hours, I rightfully took the opportunity to grab a couple extra hours of sleep, but alas, my list:

1. I am thankful for the sounds of the cicadas at dusk on summer nights.
2. I love going out for ice cream on hot summer nights.  I love that it melts fast, and drips, reminding me of the way it cools my insides in relief from the heat.
3. On days when I feel like I can’t steal away to have a quiet time, I am thankful for albums like Hillsong’s “Zion Acoustic Sessions” album to draw me back to truth with their lyrics.
4. I love knowing the little details about my friends’ lives–things that you only tell people you speak to often.
5. I love walking into an air conditioned room after being out in the heat.  Oh, the bliss.
6. I love Gilmore Girls.  I love the idea of a town where everyone knows everyone, and you can eat junk food for every meal without getting fat.  (By the way:  is anyone else dying for the reunion?!  Even just hearing the theme song again, warms my heart–maybe too much?  It’s like coming home.)
7. I love pulling up to my house in the car when the lights are on inside and I can see my family in the living room.  It gives me the macro-perspective that I need sometimes to remember just how very blessed I am.
8. I love bubble baths with a good book and a cheap (let’s be honest) glass of wine.
9. I love peanut butter.  Have I told you that already?  If I have, I’m just going to say with confidence that it’s deserving of two spots in my thankful lists because of how much I love it.  Homemade peanut butter, especially.  Yes, I do that.  It’s worth each and every one of the ten minutes it takes me.
10. I love letters and snail mail.  I love feeling remembered.
11. The other day someone paid for my coffee while I was in the drive thru at Starbucks.  I almost cried.  I love when people think to bless someone else.  Small acts of kindness are so much bigger than they seem.
12. I love reading children’s books aloud and using voices for all of the characters.  Read aloud was my favorite part of the day in my second grade classroom, and because I loved it, my students always begged for more.  I’m especially going to miss that part of my day this year while I stay home.
13. Finally, I love Diet Coke when I eat Mexican food.  There’s nothing like a fountain D.C. while eating chips and salsa.  Yes.

I hope this week you’re able to zoom out and remember all those little things that bring a smile to your face in the midst of the everyday.  And if you’re not, that’s okay too.  Grace, my people.  Let’s take life’s blurry mix of beauty and struggle one day at a time.