10 Delightful Things

I read an article by John Carroll (a columnist for sfgate.com) once, in which he declared:

"Absence of delight is the problem."

Well, that certainly sounds like it was MY problem last week.  I had turn-of-the-year malaise.  Even as recently as Saturday, when we were taking down the tree, I started feeling a muddle of maudlin+worried.  What if next Christmas wasn't as happy as this past one?  What if something awful happens, personally, in 2011?  What if....?

Yeah.  I obviously had to snap out of THAT line of thinking.  Whether I feel anticipation or stress about the future, stuff (both good and bad) is going to happen.  And does the other shoe EVER drop quite as hard as one thinks it will?  Sheesh.  I know I'd rather spend that time feeling optimistic.

So today, I'm going to focus on 10 delightful things, no particular order (except maybe the first one):

• I enjoyed a nice weekend with my family: everyone healthy (never EVER taken for granted, especially in the winter!), kids and their neighbor friends all getting along pretty well, doing nothing in particular.  Ahhhh.  Sure, we took down the Christmas decorations, but "ordinary time" is kind of nice, too.

Coffee party with Thing 2

• It's my friend W's birthday today!  I'm so glad she was born.  We've known each other since jr. high school, and she helped get me through my teens and twenties.  We don't see each other very often anymore, but when we do, it's just like no time has passed.  (And to see her, you'd think that no time had passed, she's lovelier than ever.)

• I got to run yesterday!  It's been awhile (almost a whole month!), but we had a nice, clear day, albeit somewhat cool (upper 40s), and I felt inspired by the folks I knew who were running the Disney Marathon.  I settled for about 1/5 the distance; I went 6 miles total, with about 1-1/2 mile of that as walking to warm-up and cool down, and a few bio and photo breaks sprinkled in there.    I think 10K is about my max right now; the half-marathon taught me that.  That may or may not change over time, of course. ;-)

"Start off slow then back off" - Not just another pretty race day strategy!

• Good news in the blog world:  Debby is back from Africa! And several gals in "Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans" finished the Disney Marathon!  Crikey, 26.2?!? Christie O, Brooke, Kirsten, and Terri, I salute you!

They finsihed 26.2...while I was still in my pajamas!
(Sorry, Terri, I didn't have your Twitter handle! :-/)

• (Biz, I know you're going to disagree with me on this one, but then again, I'm one of those crazy people who loves onions.) Kale crunchies are yet another proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy...and apparently raw, vegan, organic, and gluten-free.  (And yep, just about any brand will do it for me, not just these ones.  Especially when the brand is on sale AND has a $2 off sticker on it.)  At least some of the time.  Oh wait.  If He wanted us to be gluten-free, then there would be no beer.  Then again, as the old Polka song goes, "In Heaven, there is no beer/That's why we drink it here."  Hmmm, quite the conundrum.  Well, as long as there's chocolate, we're good.

Kale crunchies...don't know why I love them like I do/Don't know why, I just dooooo

• Hula class is so much fun!  It started last Monday, and I had a nice time.  Our instructor is great, and it's such a nice group of people.  I really felt it in my arms, quads, and core, even if it wasn't a drench-me-in-sweat, DOMS-for-days workout...which was nice for a change!

• The Gym Fairy granted my wish:  they added a strength class to the schedule, on Mondays at lunchtime, AND it's only 30 minutes!  I tried it for the first time today; it's a resistance band-based strength class, and the instructor was friendly, had great enthusiasm but not over-the-top, and she showed variations where appropriate (mainly on the core exercises, thank goodness!).  I know I'm going to "respect the bands," especially tomorrow when the DOMS sets in....

• I got to help Thing 2 learn a new math concept last night. "Homework" does usually make my list of delights, especially now that it's not my own and I'm in more of a supervisory role. But I got to explain something to Thing 2, she was in a receptive mood, and it was so fun to see her "get it" and feel excited and happy that she learned it. It's a cool feeling when something "clicks" like that.

• They have yet to be sent, but the thank-you notes are all written! That's always a delightful feeling.

• What to put for #10? Hmmm - there are so many things I could put for #10 - what to choose? Then I saw a Martha Beck quote that reminded me of something important, it was over on Cammy of The Tippy Toe Diet's blog and FWIW, the quote was in another entry that she linked to, not today's entry. Anyhow, that quote summarizes the rest pretty well: I live in an abundant environment. Which simultaneously delights and makes me feel grateful-humble.

Hope you all have a DELIGHTFUL Monday and week ahead!