Every once in a while, I find myself enjoying life so much I want to share with you some of the things that are making it enjoyable.
Here are five of my current favorite things:
1. Doctor Who. I know, I know. What took me so long? I was seriously resistant to this but found myself unable to keep resisting. The stories, characters, plots, actions, all of it is entertaining and thought-provoking. I wish I could binge watch but then I’d just have to go back and watch them all again. (No spoilers! We’re not caught up yet!)
2. Plants. If you know me, you know I have more of a black thumb than a green one, but it’s slowly turning more brown. This fern was one of my birthday presents, and it makes me happy just looking at it. (Plus, I’m convinced it’s grown inches in a day and I’ve barely touched it. Low-maintenance plants are my sweet spot. I also have a cactus I haven’t managed to kill.) We have the opportunity to plant flowers and/or vegetables at this house and I’m considering a little of both just so we can try it and because it adds so much beauty to our daily lives.
3. MOPS. Another late-to-the-party activity for me. For years I heard so many good things about MOPS but we didn’t have one close to where we lived before. Here, there’s one right down the street, and it’s been a fun year for my son and me. Next year, we’re unlikely to participate because he’ll be in preschool and I’ll have a few hours a week to myself. But I wish I’d had more time with MOPS. If you’re a mom of a baby/toddler/preschooler, I wholeheartedly recommend MOPS for your sanity. Check the website to see if there’s one near you.
4. Home improvement. Okay, so we don’t own a home, but this place we’re renting has given us a lot of opportunity to pretend we do. In the past few weeks, we’ve done some serious cleaning and made some small improvements. The result is feeling like we live in a whole new place. Taking care of a home, even when it’s not yours, is satisfying work.
5. Friends. We have yet to live here a full year and we have some rich and rewarding friendships already. Add those to the many we’ve developed along the way, and our friendship cups are overflowing. I say this not to brag but to praise God. We love our families dearly and miss them like crazy, but it would be a thousand times worse if we didn’t have some amazing friends. We are moving into a phase where we have entire families we can hang out with, couples in similar parenting stages, younger couples, singles and older couples who’ve “been there.” Friends are a treasure I don’t often consider, and we are thankful to call so many wonderful people “friends.”
I’m sure I could list more, but these are the standouts right now.
How about you? What are some of your favorite things lately?