Things I Love

I’ve never been much of a fan of Valentine’s Day. Whether romantic or otherwise, most relationships in life I’ve found to be fleeting and half hearted. But the word “LOVE” and all of the glorious elements in life that it can encompass---that is something I appreciate. It is hard—no—damn near impossible to find someone you love that will ever love you back with the same intensity and endurance. People and relationships fail us every single day. But the act of loving---be it a person or any other thing on this earth---is flawless. And the list of things worth loving in this life is infinite. So on this Valentine’s Day, I will spend it reveling in some of the things I love the very most......

I love the first snowflake of winter that lands on my nose. It feels like a kiss from heaven and a promise for a fresh start.

I love when someone texts me just to say good morning. It’s the perfect way to start a day.

I love rainbow sprinkles. Putting them on anything makes me feel like a kid again.

I love kisses on the forehead. There’s something so intimate and loving about those kind of kisses.

I love getting postcards in the mail and knowing that even when someone is far away on vacation, they are still thinking of me.

I love dancing around my house in the dark with my music turned up so loud it drowns out every thought in my head.

I love going for walks at night under a star-filled sky. Looking up reminds me that no matter how hard life seems sometimes, there really is a bigger plan out there for me.

I love sunflowers. I love their fearlessness to grow in the most unlikely of places, but just the places where a piece of beauty is needed.

I love full moons. I like to imagine that at the exact moment I look up and see one that the people I love most are also looking up at it....and that no matter where we all are in the world in that moment that we are connected by looking at the same moon.

I love handwritten letters. I love to write them and wish that others had the courage to write ones to me more often.

I love making snow angels and leaving my own mark on Mother Nature.

I love taking photographs and having photos taken of me. I want to look back in 60 years and remember the small moments and how much I truly lived.

I love the sound of motorcycle engines revving up. For me that is the sound of my youth and of my father.

I love wearing tutus....at inappropriate times and places. People never understand what you’re doing but they can’t help but smile at your boldness.

I love the smell of hairspray and static guard. It instantly transports me backstage to the dressing room where I prepared for all of my ballet performances.

I love splashing river water on my face. There’s no holy water in any cathedral font on earth that feels as purifying as that.

I love playing dress up. It is never too late to imagine what you might grow up to be.

I love giving gifts to people. It doesn’t matter if I ever get anything in return or if I could even afford the gift in the first place. Giving someone else 10 seconds of bliss leaves me happier than I can describe.

I love standing out in the middle of hard rainstorms with my face tilted to the sky. It feels like I’m washed clean of all my burdens for a moment.

I love when people say “no” to me. Those are the moments I know God is calling me to rise up and become an even greater version of myself.

I love going for long, aimless drives. They clear my head and bring peace back to my soul.

I love that I’ve had the same best friend since I was 5. And despite being an only child, she will always be my sister first and foremost.

I love making wishes every time I look at a clock and it reads 11:11. I secretly think these wishes will someday come true.

I love wearing onesies to bed. Because it’s impossible not to be happy when you’re wearing a onesie.

I love picking wild huckleberries and how your fingers are stained purple for days afterwards.

I love that my one true love is Montana. She will forever hold a spot in my heart that no man will ever overtake.

I love the overbearing silence of the mountains in winter. I love to close my eyes and listen to the pure sounds of nature emerge within it.

I love standing under street lights when it’s snowing and spinning around until I’m dizzy.

I love the song “My Way” by Elvis Presley. It is the song that best defines me and that I want played at my funeral someday.

I love that despite all of the pain, challenges, and ugliness life has thrown my way at times, that I still find something new to love about life with each passing day.

Happy Valentine’s Day.......go out and find something or someone to love today!