<p>After contributing much whining to the Christmas Catharsis thread - and I do LOVE that thread - I decided I needed to think positive. So here’s a spot for the LITTLE things that make our lives easier and happier. Every once and a while things go right, but we don’t notice. I used to have a sign on my wall in college that said, “Sunshine and warm breezes we take for granted, but earthquakes and hurricanes we call ‘Acts of God.’”</p>
<p>So… I’ll start:</p>
<p>Twist-ties. I love twist-ties. Especially at Christmas. Nothing is better for anchoring garlands, hanging up wreaths, etc, than twist ties. So simple, so cheap, and so effective.</p>
<p>Also, yesterday I did an unbelievably stupid thing. The Saturday morning before Christmas, with a huge snowstorm on the way, I went to the grocery store. Had to park at the far end of the strip mall and follow a woman leaving the store to her car in order to get a cart. But once inside the store I found well-stocked shelves, customers who were polite and patient, store employees who were friendly and cheery, every single register open and a bagger for every line. The whole thing was much more pleasant than I expected.</p>
<p>I love having one of my kids get a full ride to a prestigious college, graduate, land a job with a top Wall Street firm, and offer to pay off our mortgage. I can just sit with a smile and watch the birds at my feeder ALL DAY LONG when that happens.</p>
<p>When I feel a cool breeze on a HOT summer day.<br>
When I finish a load of laundry and there are no leftover socks.<br>
When I hear my children having a real conversation with each other.
When I crawl into bed with my H at the end of a long day.</p>
<p>I love it when my daughter bursts through my bedroom door in the morning, singing some ridiculous song that she’s making up as she goes along, in the over-the-top style of a Broadway musical. She did that this morning, and I’m still smiling.</p>
<p>My mom, in her eighties, relayed a story. She was walking slowly across an unexpectedly icy parking lot last week. A young man, late teens or early 20’s, came running over to her and told her to take his arm. He got her across the parking lot safely.</p>
<p>With about twenty inches of snow on the ground and four foot drifts I went out to move the frozen lump at the end of the driveway today. My H works for a utility and was at work all night and on his way home so I needed to make room in the driveway. I was standing thigh deep contemplating the impossible mission ahead of me when a small truck drove by with a snow plow attached. As he passed me I was whispering to myself " don’t go away, come back, come back, I’ll pay you." Sure enough he went to the intersection, made a u-turn and came back. It was the best twenty dollars I ever spent! My Christmas miracle! </p>
<p>I’m also grateful for a snow storm so intense that it was out of the question for my kids to go anywhere today. We were all content to make pancakes, wrap gifts, drink hot chocolate and finally decorate that tree.</p>
<p>I love hearing all the silly stories and events that have happened over the years as we decorate the tree. Many of the kid made ornaments bring out a lot of laughter.</p>
<p>Our D pestering us to visit her at college this spring because we missed Parents Weekend. Having grown S come visit just so he can cuddle on the couch with the dog.</p>
