Things that make me smile

I have had more than my fair share of tears this week. I have been spending way too much time and energy focused on all that is wrong in my life. Isn’t it time to focus on some good things in my life?

Things that make me smile

• 
  My girls understand that sometimes it takes nothing more than a simple cup of coffee to bring tears to the surface, and they are always there with open arms and loving hugs.
• Tomorrow is November. I love this time of year, I love the cool crisp air, the colored leaves on the trees, burning candles that smell of pumpkin or cider, curling up on the couch under a warm blanket with a good book.
• I have packed away a lot of my summer tank tops, and shorts and skirts and I dug out my sweaters, sweatshirts and sweatpants this weekend. I love nothing more than a big warm sweater and a cute pair of jeans.
• I love jean jackets and I love leather jackets.
• I look at Newt, who turned 7 this year, and am completely amazed that it’s been 7 years since I brought that bundle of joy home from the hospital. He may have been a complete and total surprise, but she has become the light and joy of my life. I am proud of her beyond words. She is independent and strong and smart and funny and cute. Everything I wish I could be.
• Knowing that even though my life is about to become very complicated and difficult, I have my mother firmly in my corner, offering up prayers and good thoughts for me, for this legal battle, even for me and Batman, every single day. She gets how much he matters to me, and she tells me she’s praying for us, and that she hopes we work it out.
• My sister, who knows all that is good and bad and ugly about me, and while she doesn’t always agree with me, and doesn’t always like me, she does always love me. She offers to listen when I need to talk, and she really listens. She offers her opinion, sometimes. I have yet to ask her what she thinks of Batman, but it was enough for now to know that she thinks he’s ‘alright’. She keeps her lectures to a bare minimum. She’s always honest, and always tells me where she stands. She is my true north, and I love her.
• My life could be so much worse than it is right now. I can handle what is on my plate for the time being. And I know that when the time comes that I need to handle more, when it becomes more dramatic, when it becomes more hectic, then I will find the strength I need within myself and handle my life then too.