Things Taken for Granted

There are a number of things that I tend to take for granted as life gets busy, including a number of the people in my life. Sometimes the lack of one or another gets me thinking. So I'm grateful for the following just in case I hadn't mentioned so lately:

• My husband who makes fantastic coffee and thinks that morning, before the sun, is the best part of the day. For a million reasons, I'm grateful.
• For my boys who bicker, scream, laugh, run, break things, and always manage to remember to give me a hug and kiss no matter how grumpy I've been.
• For my mother who is always there for both me and the boys. For my sister, and all my family in general.
• For my friends who talk poetry, commiserate about deployments, and in general listen even when I'm complaining. Especially those that challenge me to grow, learn, and be a better person.
• Libraries. I'd like to own one, but the two in this town keep me in reading material day and night. And books: poetry, literature, history, cookbooks, children's books, art books.
• The prairie. No matter how rough I think life is becoming, I can walk out onto the prairie and be reminded of the women who tried to make homes out of sod houses, who live miles from their nearest neighbors, who tried to be satisfied with so very little.
• Back roads, old houses, horses, herds of cattle, geese organizing themselves as they rise from the stubble of cornfields.
• Candles, electricity, the comforting flicker of the fireplace.
• The internet, and all those mysterious folks who keep it up and running so that I can study, chat, search, and enjoy.
• Stained glass at night, the moon, fireworks, fireflies.
• The list is endless really; I live a blessed life.