Common Miracles Week #31: In list form

“Rejoicing in ordinary things is not sentimental or trite. It actually takes guts. Each time we drop our complaints and allow everyday good fortune to inspire us, we enter the warrior’s world.” 

–Pema Chodron

haven't paused consistently for Common Miracles lately, but it does seem to me that of any season of the year, THIS should be the one where I feel and see Common Miracles all around me... and I doooooo (can you hear the hesitation in my "voice?"). The pausing really takes a little extra effort for me when I'm bouncing around between oven and stove and computer and tree and oven and stove and computer and tree. (Think Dug, from Up. "Squirrel!")

So to pause.

My list of Common Miracles includes (but is not limited) (just to cover myself, of course) to:
*The amazing ice that formed in the heavy fog on Friday. The beauty on each stem, fence post, tree branch, is amazing. Also amazing, the thought that this frozen wasteland will come to life again in the spring. That seems particularly miraculous right now.
*Lights in the darkness. I know I curse the darkness a lot, but boy do twinkle lights help. The tree, the stair bannister... I love the lights.
*The fireplace. I feel so blessed to have warmth at all, much less a fireplace. I love sitting by it, and the tree, and just being cozy... Seth and I tried each taking an end of the sofa while reading this weekend, but we found that our combined size now makes that less comfortable than in winters past. So apparently we'll need a second sofa! Ha.
*Laughter. Such a good thing.
*Tears. Also a good thing, in moderation.
*Holiday baking. Working on the moderation there...
*I take great joy in rugging up to go outside. Boots, coats, mittens, scarves, sweaters, you name it, I will layer upon layer to stay warm. I wore my funky green and chunky lumberjack-ish hat to drop off Seth and a buddy at the basketball game Saturday night... I think they were very glad I didn't come inside!
*GPS. Love being able to find my way around without having to use my apparently nonexistent sense of direction. Whomever invented GPS (the government? Ack.), I want to kiss you.
*Fondue. Well, OK, cheese in general. I had fondue with Jen in Portland on Friday, as well as a really great chicken schnitzle dish that had braised red cabbage, and it was divine. I know, who knew? I would not have thought that in my lifetime the words "braised red cabbage" and "divine" would show up in the same sentence. But they did, and it was. Yum. But back to fondue. It's been too long, girls. I'm feeling a fondue coming on...
*Shoulder rubs. I tweaked my back on Friday morning doing something pretty mudane. (Please, keep your snickering to a minimum.) Brushing. My. Teeth. Seriously. Quite the tweak, too. I got a few really good, gentle-ish shoulder rubs from husband over the weekend that went a long way toward fixing my tweak. Ahhh.

I'm sure I'm forgetting something--clean air to breathe? good well water to drink? an ample pantry? a roof over my head? all these and more--but for today, these are the ordinary things that make me smile, remind me that life is good, and we are all quite blessed.

To see how the Common Miracle project started, go here.