Sometimes it JUST. DOESN'T. COME. EASY.
In fact, it seems that the simple act of choosing to recognize joy is almost guaranteed to unleash torrents of challenges, deluges of doubts. And, occasionally tears.
But then, nobody ever said that joy must manifest itself in all things shiny & new. In fact it often arrives dented & wrinkled instead.
But sometimes it's the fighting for it that makes it run deep, carves new canyons in your soul & washes away the detritus of disappointment.
But sometimes it's the fighting for it that makes it run deep, carves new canyons in your soul & washes away the detritus of disappointment.
So it didn't come easy on this, the commencement of my 48th solar orbit, to name & revel in joy... to actually count my blessings - the bits & pieces that bless me.
But it was worth the struggle. And because I fought for it, joy is mine. And it runs deep.
As evidence, I present...
"48 Things
That Give Me Joy"
1. fresh eggs
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2. katydids
3. little golden books
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5. "screen' porch"
6. kudzu that hangs like drapes
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3. little golden books
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4. trains that whistle in the dark
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6. kudzu that hangs like drapes
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7. delight in small things
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8. brief phone calls
9. long conversations
10. full tank
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9. long conversations
10. full tank
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11. naps
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12. bare feet | wood floors
13. his hands | my back
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14. red top in bloom
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15. "story-games" at bedtime
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17. friday night movie night
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18. old jeans
19. older sweatshirt
20. new lens
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21. trespassing
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22. the number 22
23. beautiful thoughts | clever sentences
24. big skies
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25. red dirt
26. white sand
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27. black mud
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28. shops, not stores
29. bolts of fabric
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28. shops, not stores
29. bolts of fabric
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30. campground night-sounds
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31. bluegrass
32. blonde headed boys
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33. storytellers
34. laugh lines
35. suntans
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31. bluegrass
32. blonde headed boys
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33. storytellers
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34. laugh lines
35. suntans
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36. ears that flop, tails that wag
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37. anything in a cast iron skillet
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38. eternal reality that overcomes dayshadows
39. the unflagging optimism of gardeners
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40. yard art
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41. all things authentic
42. impromptu bouquets
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43. laughing at him; laughing with him
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44. "eternity in the hearts of men"
45. the creak of saddles
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46. fresh figs
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47. thunder over the Gulf
48. that lies are only true if we believe them
