MY LIST

I have this list…I keep it in my head…an ever-expanding file

of things that make me happy…things that make me smile.

What makes this list so amazing is that it’s always very near

and I never know from day to day…which items will appear

On this list are my friends and family…

and individual moments we have shared

moments that were planned out…and moments unprepared.

Moments walking along the beach

Skipping stones or holding hands

When our children and grandchildren were young 

and we built castles in the sand.

Standing under sunrises and sunsets

In the city watching crowds

Seeing the waves move across the ocean

or the changing colors in the clouds.

Listening to bird songs

or the wind whistle through the trees

Walking barefoot in the grass

feeling the mist in a morning breeze.

The feel of a baby’s skin

The taste of sugar cane

The aroma of cookies baking

The smell of a forest after rain

My list is in no apparent order…

thoughts float in then float away

I’m never sure what’s coming next…

and I kind of like it that way.

It means whenever I call up my list

when I stop and visit it a while 

I am never far from happiness.

and the things that make me smile.