Big things have been happening in the Elgas House already this week. Monday morning I attempted my first gluten free coffee cake thanks to a recipe and tips shared by my wonderful friend Kelly and I am very happy to report it was freaking delicious. Also, don’t fret friends if you hate sour cream on a regular basis like I do, you can’t taste it. Instead this coffee cake tastes like sugary, pecan heaven. You’re welcome.
Tuesday morning I watched Brady pull out of my driveway in his own truck without a parent as a passenger. My first baby is officially a licensed driver and I am unwell. If you need me I will be compulsively checking the Life 360 app when he’s not home. I’ve started approximately ten different sentences about how I’m feeling about all of this but I think there are just too many BIG feelings to put into words so you’ll have to forgive me for not making the attempt right now. Just pray for my mama heart, and his safety every single time he’s behind the wheel.
We are beginning back to school mode over here. The two youngest don’t actually start school until the Tuesday after Labor Day but I swear getting ready to head back is a month long process. New backpacks, lunch boxes, uniforms, and SEVEN MILLION school supplies. Tuesday afternoon we crossed backpacks and lunch boxes off the list and that felt good. Football and Cheer season is in full swing so we spend every evening Monday-Friday at the field. Sometimes I feel like there aren't enough hours in the day. The practice of looking for things I love and remembering to write them down has really been helping with the overwhelm of it all.
Without further ado- The Next 25 Things I Love.
26. I love when my kids smile, like the really big smiles that go from ear to ear and make their eyes sparkle. I especially love when I catch this genuine smile on camera, particularly Brady. It’s like seeing a unicorn and having the camera ready for a photo so you’ll always remember. There’s nothing quite like it.
27. The sound of laughter. I love when all of my kids are laughing together. I love when you start laughing and you just can’t stop no matter how inappropriate it has become. Or when you giggle for no reason at all and then it catches on and everyone is giggling and no one has any real idea why.
28. Knitting. I love how it keeps my hands busy, and my mind free when I’m knitting a pattern I know. I love that it keeps my mind and hands busy when I learn a new knitting skill or pattern.
29. Wearing a hat I knitted myself, or seeing someone I know and love with a hat I made for them with my own two hands on their head.
30. When a moment happens that I know is going to enhance an essay and I remember it vividly and it reads as beautiful on paper as I remember it.
31. Writing at my desk. It makes me feel like a Real Writer.™
32. Hitting publish on a piece.
33. Writing in community. Other writers make my writing better and I’m thankful for that. I love reading other people's writing before it's published, it makes me feel like I’m a part of a really special secret in their lives.
34. Throwing Glitter. If you are here (reading this, or just in the world in general) YOU DESERVE TO BE CELEBRATED. Yay! You’re amazing! And talented! And have SO MUCH TO OFFER. Keep being you!
35. Having glitter thrown at me. (See why above)
36. Feeling seen, known, and loved. When someone else says “me too” and you can tell they mean it.
37. The way my husband’s hugs feel like home.
38. The way Zoey bounces (like me) when she walks and how her hair bounces too. The back and forth sway as she stomps off with purpose just makes my heart so unreasonably happy.
39. When Easton gets so excited he literally can not stop his body from buzzing and his arms from flapping. His excitement and joy are absolutely contagious.
40. Freshly painted nails, before the inevitable chip in two days.
41. Walking into a freshly decluttered room. Ahh, I can just feel the peace as I type the words.
42. Couch naps. They are so few and far between they feel like a treat. I love falling asleep at night on the couch with Brent, both of us waking up 3 hours later, dragging tired limbs down the stairs to our bed.
43. When the photograph turns out even better than I’d hoped.
44. When I walk into a client's home and see photos I’ve taken on their walls.
45. When clients become friends.
46. When people fall, but don’t get hurt. It’s not funny if they get hurt, but I can’t help but laugh when they aren’t hurt. Maybe this sounds mean, but if you know me then you know how terribly uncoordinated I am and how often I fall. I think this fact makes it ok when I laugh.
47. When Easton makes his own breakfast.
48. When Easton wakes up and spends a half hour going through my collection of cookbooks looking for something to ask me if he can make later.
49. Collecting cookbooks. I LOVE THEM AND YOU CAN NEVER HAVE TOO MANY. (Unless you ask my husband, he’d disagree but ohhhh well.)
50. Cooking shows. All of them pretty much. Is It Cake? Worst Cooks In America. Crime Scene Kitchen. At least 10 others that I can’t think of right now. But if I had to choose one for you to watch, it would be The Big Brunch. Seriously, the cooking, the people, the emotion, all of it. SO DARN GOOD. And I mean, Daniel Levy, Sohla El-Waylly, AND Will Guidara. Enough said.
Two weeks left of list sharing, and it grows daily. This has been such an amazing practice in gratitude. It is easy to focus on the to-do lists, the hard stuff, and all of the unseen and often unnoticed parts of the every day. Spending days looking for things to love has really opened my eyes to all the goodness surrounding me.
I love this Dani! And ps your description of laughing when people fall but aren’t hurt is perfect!!! I feel the same way 🙃
I love this! Especially writing in community and feeling in on the secret when it is published! And couch naps and too many cookbooks (I have a whole separate shelf of cookbooks in my kitchen 😂)