a poignant life

things that create a beautiful melancholy (or "In hours of weariness, sensations sweet") in me . . .

*a wheat field just before harvest
*the smell of rain when you walk through wet grass
*"summertime" by ella fitzgerald & louis armstrong
*watching someone dance with talented fluidity, like they've got a secret
*the crisp air and the lights and excitement at a friday night football game
*black and white photographs
*banjo and acoustic guitar picking
*the ability to paint what you feel
*the sound of rustling leaves
*honest, hard work that leaves you tired, sweating, and hungry
*calves playing and running in their first couple months of life
*the blind, empty-headed loyalty of old cows and steers
*the way my dog sits and stares at me when i sneak outside for a cry, or the way she sits on my feet the moment i walk in the door
*hugs from a familiar old friend
*friends who understand without speaking and still talk things out anyway -- the cameraderie that we have
*hammering out frustration and turning it into joy or sorrow just by the songs i play on the piano and finding cathartic contentment
*barley fields (probably the most beautiful fields ever)
*fresh spring grass on bare feet
*fresh spring wheat
*racing my dog to the mailbox
*mental photographs
*the familiarity of the flattest farmland anywhere
*earning my blisters and scars
*the feeling once the cattle are IN the trailer (seriously)
*walking around the livestock exchange at auction day
*driving by myself with the radio blaring and the windows down, and singing as loudly and terribly as i can at the top of my lungs
*a beautiful song that makes me feel like i'm alone on the road when i'm in my apartment
*peers who surprise me by caring like friends
*architecture
*tears of happiness
*uncut alfalfa fields
*my great grandpa's shop and its smell
*puzzles with my grandpa aldrich
*sawdust and the smell of cow manure
*rodeos
*the sound of a river
*fairs, with the midway, the kids (so proud of their animals), the STEERS, the calves, getting ready for show, the ducklings . . .
*writing something that still sounds good later (a rarity)
*a friend's passion for the hungry and for heaven on earth and social justice
*just floating next to the boat on the lake
*picking raspberries and feeding them to george, the donkey
*catching wild kittens and "tamin' 'em down"
*opening up the jet ski (the slower one, of course, lol) and catching a wave that totally soaks me
*the startling emergence of carpet when i clean my room
*knowing that someone appreciates me
*conversations where i get to hear my brother's wisdom & share what i hope to be my own
*sisterhood in faith
*BRONNER'S & the bavarian inn a couple days after thanksgiving
*Robert Frost, Maya Angelou, Homer, and William Wordsworth
*long lists that no one else will probably read ;)
*mercy & grace, compassion
*tent camping, or even better, sleeping out under the stars
*my extra family (i still need to go buy an MSU football)
*the cut river overpass
*freshly mowed grass
*that dirt layer that gets on the bottom of my jeans after just an hour outside at SpringHill
*The Hill & The Hill Beyond The Hill
*the taste of the first snow and the silence that accompanies a snowstorm out in the country
*that green color of spring that disappears for the rest of the year
*SpringHill lovin'
*the smell of mud and new grass and partially decayed leaves in the spring
*seeing an old friend's face again
*hearing a band that sounds like an old friend
*the smell of sweat and mud and grass stains after a football game
*Christmas lights
*stars at SpringHill (they're just so clear up there)
*helping someone that needs it
*sharing in suffering
*saying ridiculous and random things
*the sound at the coco craft barn bridge
*sticking my legs into a natural spring all the way up to my knees
*"secret" bridges
*wood cabins
*no electricity
*bootle feeding a calf
*bedding down pens with calves in them! haha
*the fact that my cousin TJ talks just like our dads
*praying to God as the wind whisks tree leaves around and around
*that great, familiar, musty smell of our cabin when we first get there
*great conversations about theology over the phone at 1 am
*ice cream & fried cauliflower w/ the "kintuck" friends
*walking the streets of ann arbor and "awkward teepee" in the middle of the sidewalk
*man fires
*belaying huge old men lol
*trying Greek food for the first time and getting sick (who knew that the lamb came with the ribs still sticking out of it? not me!)
*popsicles in the summer
*big goofy grins from friends when something is funny
*friends who laugh at my sad attempts to be funny
*that great feeling of getting the most out of your muscles when you run on legs that are really tight but never actually cramp up (amazing)
*encouraging & being encouraged
*runner's euphoria (terrifying the first time)
*running outside during a tornado warning
*playing with hair & having mine played with
*teaching 4-year-olds how to play football (make that attempting)
*"green tea to help you sleep" and staying up all night in a camper beside the walnut tree
*sleeping outside all night in sleeping bags & keeping the fire going on our own in 4th grade . . . we were so proud
*kids with special needs
*older people
*Dove dark chocolate
*cooking for loved ones
*a friend who sticks up for you when you least expect it
*four leaf clovers and my sisters that go along with them
*trees and moss
*hobo dinners & hobo pies (different things)
*my plastic tractor, my bamboo bowl, and letters from cherished friends -- not the momentos, but the love behind them
*falling asleep to the sound of a heartbeat
*taking care of people
*the sound of people's breathing as they fall asleep ;)
*"wrist zapper things"
*unconditional acceptance
*hugs from loved ones
*blatant honesty that springs from intimacy
*the essence of fall and the way it captures the memory of a bygone friend
*cider, donuts, crunchy leaves, ridiculous squirrels, hayrides, bonfires, and sweatshirts and blankets at games in the fall
*forgiveness
*great-grandmothers-in-law ;)
*grandfatherly friends :D
*"DID I MISS 60B? DID I MISS 60B?!!!!!"
*http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/You%27ve_Got_Mail
*"Whudjyou DO?!!!"

i could go on and on . . .