Melancholy Follows

A Tree With Heart, originally uploaded by LaundryGirlPhotog.

There is a melancholy that follows me. I try so hard not to let it in, but it does not redirect itself so easily.

It's interesting that I find the same melancholy haunting others as well...very busy, that melancholy. There is a similar theme among the other blogs that I read lately. At first I thought I was lucky because I've been so happy, but I guess it's time for my visit now. So, I was thinking I should write a list of some things that I'm thankful for right now...

#1 -- I am so thankful for my daughter. She's so cute and funny. We watched Enchanted tonight, it was the first movie she has ever been INTO. She cried when anything bad happened to the Chipmunk, she laughed when he got away, she cried when she thought Gisele was leaving, she was all smiles when she came back and she cheered at the end of the movie. She surprises me...she's not even 2 yet and for her to understand what was happening was amazing to me.

#2 -- I am so thankful for my backyard. I know it's an odd thing to be thankful for, but for the first time since we moved in it actually looks good and feels comfortable to spend time in. I just spent a week pulling out dead blackberry bushes and landscaping the retaining wall...just simple things that make it feel oh-so homey. And with the new grass that we had put in last year and Lily's new slide and her little sandbox, it's the best thing to go back there and spend some time everyday. Plus, the birds are out and about and the bird houses that we've got out are quickly becoming crowded.

#3 -- I'm thankful for the warm weather.

#4 -- I'm thankful that home-grown herb season is here again!

#5 -- I'm thankful for my camera. Though I haven't taken pictures in a week I feel like it's an essential outlet for my creativity when I find other things take too much of my time or energy, especially since I'm slowing way down with the impending arrival of baby.

#6 -- I'm thankful for the farmer's market. We are so lucky to have a year-round farmer's market just down the road from us. When most markets don't start up until May or later we've got fabulous fresh asparagus, broccoli, fennel, carrots, mushrooms, apples, strawberries, oranges, kiwi, you name it...it's amazing and so much fun to come up with new recipes for everything!

#7 -- I can't stress how thankful I am that I am close to the end of this pregnancy. I am soooo ready to hold my baby in my arms and not in my belly!!! I just hope she's an early or at least on-time arrival, unlike her sister who was two-weeks-to-the-day LATE!!!!

#8 -- I am thankful every time my husband does the dishes and picks up around the house which has been fairly frequent lately. I am just so tired from all the spring-cleaning I've been doing lately and sometimes I just don't want to clean the kitchen for a third time today or pick up anymore cheerios off the floor.

#9 -- I am thankful for the library...who doesn't just LOVE the library????? Such a money saver!

#10 -- I am soooooo, soooo, soooo thankful that I do not have swollen feet and ankles!!!! Yipee Skippy!