A Little MS with a Little MSW

I started a list of my favorite things recently, in the Notes section of my phone. I did this at the thought of passing it on to my two children, so that they might know me just a little better. I also did it to give myself a master list of things that I can refer to when Life is displaying its finest set of monotony and drudgery.

I decided to display my list here, in the hope of encouraging you all to reflect on the things that have intensified your heartbeat to the level of implosion and wiped your worries more diligently than Deepak Chopra with a bottle of Windex.

Here they are:

strawberries and Nutella

Dog noses

Bohemian/vintage clothes

Rings

Almond butter bars

Wildlife

Cows

North Shore of Lake Superior

Deserted beach in the morning

Dogs (especially mine)

Coffee

Snow

Snoop

Bret Michaels

Psychological Thriller books

Sarah Jessica Parker

Edgar Allan Poe

Professional massages

Bubble baths

Dry red wine

Wineries

Memories of my grandma

S’mores

Skor bars

Hershey bars

Country backroads

Warm, choc glazed Krispy Kreme doughnuts

My hammock swing

Swings in general

Smell of gasoline

Sleep masks

Long talks with a close friend

Getting lost in a book

Bruster’s banana split

My children’s laughter

Lying on a float in the middle of my pool

Baby anything (humans, animals, whatever…)

An infant’s belly laugh

Persevering

Cravin Melon (especially Doug Jones)

Live music

Fancy restaurants

Hotels in general, but fancy ones are really cool

Boat rides

Water (ocean, lake, river… doesn’t matter)

Candlelight

Amaretto sours

Lifting weights (prior to MS diagnosis)

Stationery

Handwritten letters

Handmade gifts

Antique stores

Ballet

Watching my youngest dance

Watching my oldest draw

The curtain call after a play

The song “God Bless the USA”

Hematite

Darts, ping pong, frisbee, or any other game that requires eye-hand coordination (it’s one of my strengths!)

Writing poetry

Beachbody workouts

My younger self loved Hello Kitty, pigs, stickers, grandma tickling my arms and back, watching stand-up comedy with my dad, climbing trees, riding bikes, and playing tee ball. Cookouts at Aunt Claudette’s, playing Atari and the original Nintendo. My neighbor and first boyfriend, Scott. VC Andrews and The Babysitter’s Club. Toe rings, She Talks to Angels by The Black Crowes. Canoe rides with my friend Anne in her neighborhood pond. Catching lightning bugs, watching soap operas and pretending I was a star.

This list is by no means exhaustive and obviously not all of these things make me feel as though I’ve reached Nirvana, but they have all contributed to my peace, happiness, and the meaning of life as I know it.

Goodness infuses itself into our daily lives by way of a memory, a touch, a look, a word, a smell, or a sound. And its power is often bulldozed by the minutiae of every day life, but I encourage you all to embrace the good. Relish it when it reveals itself to you, and hold it sacred. Always.