This week I received an unexpected delight.  My editor, Jenny, from Marengo Union Times, asked me to write an article about a fantastic gardener, Ginger Johnson.  She’s a second grade teacher who is starting back to school today.  So, she opted for an interview on Sunday, rather than waiting until Friday, my and her next available time.  Sunday morning, while I pulled weeds, I imagined Ginger doing the same.  Yup, she frantically pulled and preened.  She may have felt frantic, but her garden and her sense of humor showed a zen-like quality that set my whole week on a positive course.  What a blessing that Sunday interview is to me.

Here’s a few more things, in no particular order, that make me breathe a stop and count my blessings:

• A shopping trip with Miss K. This time Loved-One joined us.  Miss K is over-flowed with giggles and fun.  She came home with a bag full of bargains and a coveted pair of skinny bib overalls.  Yup, recycled fashion made modern.
• Snap Chat with Miss S.  She loves the funny faces. Especially the ones that with big, lolling tongues.  They scare me and then make me laugh.
• A yellow butterfly pausing to say good morning.  Okay, I know that’s in my imagination, still, what a delight.
• Mr. N and Miss E sending photos from their vacation at the very same place we take our camping trip every year.  It’s almost like being there with them.
• A phone call with Mom.  She always makes me laugh.
• Mistaking the Pink Line for the Red Line and taking an extra ride around the Loop and visiting a vintage “L” station that’s all oak. What an unexpected treat amidst my frustration.
• Bargain tickets to Cirque de Soleil and a chance to share the evening with new friends.
• Nastursiums from seed thriving among the weeds.
• A tomato bearing fruit in my flower bed.
• Loved-One juggling in the living room and the cats believing the balls are their new toy.
• A surprise front-page for my National Bog Day story. (More about that on Wednesday.)

What makes you stop and wonder, or give thanks, or pause in amazement. Please share.  Your thoughts almost always make me remember more ways that my life is blessed.