Think Back Tuesday, What Brought Me Joy?

When I sat down at the computer to look back on the previous week, watching the birds still gorging themselves at the bird feeder and the "all you can eat" seed buffet in the snow-covered landscape, I thought, really, the last week hasn't been that joyful.

Peaceful, maybe, but not full of joy.

I didn't see the three Es for four days as the snow kept their daddy home from work for two days, then it was the weekend and they didn't make it to church Sunday. In fact, I've pretty much been home most of the last week, shrouded in a comforting blanket of snow that kept the world away.

Then I started thinking and there were actually a lot of random memories that brought a smile to my face.

1. The birds trying to work up the nerve to eat from the suet feeder while I was sitting in the sun just below them. This was after the snow, when the sun came out all bright and glorious and warm and I was in my shirt sleeves on the phone and had no intention of moving. The maple was aflutter with hungry birds who would swoop in for a landing, give me the eye and then flee without a bite.

2. The fact that I had my husband get two D batteries and still knew where the second one was at when the carbon monoxide detector started beeping. The other smoke detector and three crazed house dogs got me out of bed one night and I had put them on our weekly shopping list. Of course, the batteries come in a two-pack, so that wasn't the tough part. Actually knowing where it was at when the second one started beeping was the amazing part.

3. Snow. I dreaded the snow's arrival, but once it took over the landscape it was magical. It trapped me and my husband at home for a day without children or work. I decided it wasn't such a bad thing after all.

4. Going 24 hours without poop in W's cage. I keep W (no name to protect his identity) in my kennel all the time and he's this tiny, adorable little dog. Except he cannot go 8 hours without messing in his crate and every morning I'm greeted by the smell of dog feces. Sometimes, despite having been out a short time before, I'm greeted by that same scent in the afternoon or any other time I go back. When I went out Sunday morning, no mess. It was nice but it didn't last. Monday morning he had messed enough to need a bath.

5. Finally finishing Evie's turtle. Shortly after she was diagnosed with Sensory Processing Disorder, and we began to talk about weighted lap blankets we came up with the idea of a lap pillow. She has always liked crocheted blankets, so a crocheted pillow might be good. She loved the idea of a turtle, but of course picked one that I could not find a free pattern for. So I made it up, it just took longer.

6. The younger woman at church who sees me as an "earth mother" and has given me the hippy name of Rainbow Sunshine. Her smile and hug at church are always welcome and make me smile in return.

7. Finally making it home Wednesday after having to drive in the snow for the first time in four years. I went to my daughter's home to babysit so the girls would not be out, but the snow came before my son-in-law got home, so I got to drive home in driving snow with all the other idiots out there. It was nerve wracking and I was so glad to get home.

8. Not having to drive in the snow after I managed to get home on Wednesday. Until four years ago, I've had to drive in the snow for 25 years because news doesn't quit when it snows. I was glad to sit at home and watch it snow and not have to worry about getting anywhere.

9. Grackles and skunks appearing on the landscape. The scent of skunks and the arrival of the grackles at the bird feeders, as unwelcome as they may be, are sure signs of spring. It's mating season for skunks and the birds have come back from wherever they spent the bulk of the winter.

10. My neighbors pushing snow. I could literally have hugged them both. One came by on a tractor pushing the road and then stopped to ask if I would like my driveway pushed. Absolutely. An hour or so later when I took a shovel out to dig out the cars, another neighbor stopped with a small loader and did the finer cleanup. I was left with very little shovel work and a lot of gratitude.

So take a minute now and think back on last week. What random things made you smile, even in the midst of all the less than joyful things that may have been going on around you? Snow cream? Safe travels? Unexpected time with family? Power that didn't go out? Pull those things out and treasure them and their memory to get you through the week ahead.

I dare you.