Life ¤ Love ¤ Laughter ¤ Linds

Do you ever stop to actually think about the things that feed your soul?  These are the things or moments that make you stop, pause, and breathe.  They will most likely be as unique as you are, though I'm sure many of us have many of the same items on our lists - the random minutiae that bring you a moment of peace, a spot of joy, or a bit of encouragement or life to your day. I'm also sure that you'll never be able to list all the things that refresh you as many little moments pass us by and we don't even realise that we've been uplifted for the moment. These are some of the little things that are like a breath of fresh air in an otherwise busy life - for me! (Listed in no particular order.) a butterfly on a wildflower escaping in a book a great cup of tea a cool iced latte doggy dreams (our beast howls so forlornly as he chases rabbits - it's adorable) laughter around the dinner table a {gentle} hike through the woods sitting quietly beside a bod...

We went camping at one of our local provincial parks this summer.  It was just a Friday night - Sunday afternoon deal, but my crossover was loaded to the max and the poor beast had just enough room to lie down and switch directions.   Our trip, like usual, was an interesting mix of chaos and comedy, frustration and fun, and well, rain. It never takes too, too long to set up camp.  J has his own little pop-up that he likes to use and takes charge of.  Kaleb bemoaned the camping experience and decided putting an air mattress in the back of the Journey was the way to go.  Kevin & I set up the screened in dining tent, Kevin & J. tackled the main tent and all the air mattresses while K. watched the beast and helped me putter around camp.  There was a campfire ban so no s'mores or grilled weiners for us.  It was so hot the weekend we chose to go and our tent was stifling, so *someone* kept all the windows open to air it out on Saturday.  ...

Kevin had a birthday a few weeks ago and I like to mock how he has aged.  It's all very tongue in cheek because I, myself, have another birthday approaching and am discovering bones that never used to creak, waking up with aches that are new, and of course the occasional grey hair has sprouted (only in my eyebrows, thank-you-very-much.) In a culture surrounded by looks and accomplishments and the next trendy diet, aging can be a drag (and I mean that literally.  Walking through Wonderland is not pursued with the same speed or enthusiasm it was 20 years ago. I drag... my feet, my arms, the dislike of crowded spaces.)  When we're younger we think, "by the time I'm 30, I'll have done this..." or, "oh man, 45 is so old..." and even, "I'm going to have a BA in English, taken some marketing courses, own a book/coffee shop, toured Europe, a vacation home on a lake; I'll be tall, svelte, athletically inclined, play the piano like a virtuoso, b...