Life is filled with simple pleasures that bring a smile to your face and put a lump in your throat. My mom always advised me to count my blessings. It was her way of saying that everyday joys help to fill and define the essence of life. Being cognizant of them accomplishes something significant: it allows them to multiply. Once you start looking, you can't help seeing. I challenged myself to come up with a mere 100. Here goes:
1. Ring around the rosie
2. Puddles
3. A mama duck and her 10 babies
4. Crossing the street
ADVERTISEMENT
5. Mud pies
6. A soft, warm bed
7. Bringing your own pillow from home
8. Oversleeping
9. Being 8
10. Anything fried on a stick at any county fair anywhere in the U.S.
11. A picnic, in the middle of winter, in the living room
12. The smell of freshly cut grass
ADVERTISEMENT
13. Dipping your feet in off the dock
14. Minnows nibbling on your toes
15. Puppy breath
16. When a cat "kneads" you
17. A brand new pair of tennis shoes
18. Going barefoot
19. Freshly polished toenails
20. A tan line
ADVERTISEMENT
21. Being 18
22. Your first apartment
23. The sun coming in through mini blinds
24. "Yes"
25. "I do"
26. "We're pregnant"
27. "Mama"
28. The excitement of being married one year
ADVERTISEMENT
29. A three-day weekend
30. Sticky kisses from a 4-year-old
31. Goodnight kisses from your husband
32. Kissing a boo boo
33. And making it all better
34. The bottom of the laundry pile
35. Three small, ripe strawberries dropped into a glass of chilled chardonnay
36. Your child's face, first thing in the morning (as long as it is after 8 a.m.)
ADVERTISEMENT
37. Your child's face, last thing at night (as long as it is before 8 p.m.)
38. Clean sheets
39. A new down pillow
40. The snooze alarm
41. First-grade teachers
42. Second-grade teachers
43. Third-grade teachers (and so on)
44. Being outnumbered by your kids
ADVERTISEMENT
45. When today's square on the calendar is completely empty
46. Any elementary art project involving clay
47. Handprints on the windows
48. When all the mittens match
49. Eating sunflower seeds while watching Little League baseball
50. Going to Disneyworld
51. And meeting the real Cinderella
52. A first grade school music program
53. Ice - in your drink
54. Ice - on a hockey rink
55. Being 38
56. Being 38 for a second year in a row
57. A smile from a stranger
58. A smile from your husband
59. A text from your teenager
60. Getting carded (when you are over 30)
61. Not getting carded (when you are under 30)
62. The first day of summer
63. The first day of school
64. Back to school shopping
65. The clearance rack
66. An unexpected hug from any 13-year-old
67. A thick, juicy burger
68. With fries
69. At a restaurant
70. Your teenager asking, "What do you think, Mom?"
71. The contentment of being married 20 years
72. A family vacation
73. Talking with your mom
74. Talking with your dad
75. The radio station that plays classic rock
76. Looking at an old photo and thinking you looked pretty good then
77. An egg, fried over-easy with the yoke intact - like your dad used to make
78. Your mom's recipe for rhubarb sauce
79. Corn on the cob
80. Dental floss
81. A hot shower
82. Brushing your teeth in the morning
83. A port-a-potty when you really have to go
84. Being 88
85. A friend with an apple tree who is willing to share
86. Vanilla ice cream
87. Coming home from vacation
88. The smell of coffee
89. Peanut butter toast
90. Raspberry jam
91. A warm blanket, preferably homemade
92. A bird's nest in a tree in your backyard
93. Holding hands
94. While watching the sunset
95. Knowing what "unconditional" means
96. A summer storm
97. Porcupine meatballs - just like your mom used to make
98. Fallen leaves crunching underfoot
99. Snowflakes on your tongue
100. A really good book
101. A happy ending
102. Yesterday
103. Today
104. Tomorrow
How's that for a backwards kind of bucket list? I surpassed 100; couldn't help myself. Once you identify a simple pleasure, it's difficult to cross it off your list. How do you judge one moment of joy against the other? You can't. I couldn't. Here's hoping you run into the exact same problem.
Cloquet resident Jill Pertler is a syndicated columnist and author of "The Do-It-Yourselfer's Guide to Self-Syndication" at booklocker.com. She also offers writing and design services at http://marketing-by-design.home.mchsi.com . Check Slices of Life out on Facebook. E-mail Jill at pertmn@qwest.net .
