It's hard to remain grateful through everything that life throws at us. I am the first one to admit that and I do it willingly. Sometimes with everything that goes on in the world, it is impossible to stay positive and look on the bright side of things. Especially now, with everything that has been happening in our country and the world, I don't blame anyone who is feeling down. In fact, I have been feeling down myself lately. So, as a little pick me up, I decided to create a list of all things to remind me that there's still a large amount of good in the world. Here it is:
- My family.
- The ability to record tv shows and the fast forward function on my DVR.
- Lint rollers to remove cat and dog hair from leggings.
- Ice cream for breakfast.
- Using gifs instead of words to express feelings.
- People who sit in silence with me when talking is too overwhelming.
- Crisp walks the morning after it snows.
- HGTV.
- Fireplaces and the fires that fill them on cold winter nights.
- The Yale Book of Quotations.
- Dev Patel in the movie Lion.
- Wooden bookcases filled with old books and the smell of those old books.
- The MBTA and the Green Line when it runs on schedule.
- Gumballs. But mainly gumball machines.
- Weeping willow trees that dangle over the water.
- Bitmoji’s.
- Rainbow sprinkles on soft serve ice cream.
- Paddle boarding when it's cloudy.
- Wixom, Michigan.
- And Commerce Township, Michigan.
- And pretty much all of Michigan.
- Bay Windows and reading books in them.
- The word ‘thrice’.
- And ‘whilst’.
- Friendly’s Mac and Cheese.
- NOT mall santas’.
- Memes.
- The oceans.
- And waves.
- And tides.
- The smell of bonfires and how that smell can linger in the air long after the fire is put out.
- The Book Thief.
- The plant section of IKEA.
- The children section of IKEA.
- The Cafe in IKEA.
- All of IKEA.
- The starry sky of a Michigan campground.
- Having people around me that make me feel better when I'm sad.
- Leaf tornadoes made by fall wind.
- The day after Valentines Day because the candy is on sale.
- Snow
- Pain because it allows me to feel and sometimes, feeling is good.
- My cat curling up on my lap.
- The #lovetrumpshate hashtag because it gives me hope.
- Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Dairy Queen Blizzard’s with chocolate ice cream.
- Slippers.
- My boat and my grandpa who first ensured me that it wouldn't sink the first time I rode it. And the second. And the third.
- My pretty bomb roomies.
- The smell of baking cookies and how those cookies taste when dunked in cold milk.
- Swimming at high tide and walking the sandbar at low tide.
- Cider Mills.
- Floridian mini golf courses. Actually any mini golf course ever.
- Creamy Freeze.
- No class on Friday’s.
- Warm showers on cold nights.
- Color coded planners.
- The Make Way for Ducklings statue in the Public Garden.
- Color sharpies.
- Floating down long, winding rivers in inner tubes.
- Listening to a sad song in the car with your head against the window as it rains, pretending you're in a music video.
- My puppy. And all puppies everywhere.
- Little kid crafts and the person who always helps me complete them.
- Sparkly paddle boats on small lakes.
- Loss because without it, I wouldn’t know what love is or how it feels.
- The Great Lakes. Especially red flag days when the waves are big and one smacks you in the face.
- Colorful Rain boots.
- People that understand my sarcasm.
- Boston.
- Sunsets from the second floor of my cottage in Clinton and Wednesday night sailboat races.
- Ulta.
- Pet stores.
- Riding bikes around campgrounds at dusk.
- Sliding from the couch onto an exercise ball and then onto the floor and doing it over and over again.
- The excitement of seeing someone you miss and the sheer relief you feel when you hug them for the first time in long while.
- Going out to breakfast.
- The fact that Pine Trees don't lose their needles in the winter.
- Fuzzy socks and my pink polar fleece pants.
- Swiss chocolate.
- The body pillow I have on my bed at school.
- The Duty-Free section of the airport. Even though I've never bought anything from the Duty-Free section of the airport.
- Happiness because it’s so bright and beautiful.
- Occasional dressing up.
- Movies that are so good you see them in the theater multiple times, and the person who always will with me.
- When a messy bun actually looks good.
- Fish tank decorations.
- Bumpers in bowling alleys.
- Walking through the baby section of Target and thinking about how fashionable your future kids are going to be.
- The smell of rain.
- My brother. Most of the time.
- Pre-Bedtime naps.
- Strawberry lip balm.
- Boneless buffalo wings.
- Long, quiet drives at night.
- Picture albums filled with prints from years ago.
- Good Boston drivers.
- The random patches of wildflowers that are sometimes on the side of the highways to remind us that the world is still beautiful.
- Libraries. Specifically, the children's section of libraries.
- The invention of Netflix and the way the next episode starts automatically after the last one when bingeing a series.
- Coloring books and people who color coloring books with me.
- Friends who have shown me what true friendship is.
- Target.
- Panera Bread.
- Bartol Late Night and having roommates that will always go with me to get cheese sticks at midnight.
- Starbucks coffee. Actually all coffee.
- Showering at home because, well, no shower shoes.
- The feeling of writing in a brand new notebook.
- Borders.
- Sledding, but not walking back up the hill afterwards.