#15 WATCHING THE CATS PLAY

I love to watch my three cats playing.  I like it even more when they are playing together.  I like it even MORE when I am with my three kids and we are all watching them play.  Not long ago, when Thomas was home from college on winter break we were all sitting around and Erin and Sarah stretched some blankets over the ottomans to form a blanket fort.  There is nothing so enticing to a cat.  One goes in and another sees the movement underneath and pounces!  At one point George was in it with Bob watching and batting him from above.  George began jumping straight up in the air grabbing at the blanket.  We rolled with laughter because it looked so funny!  Bob just got a funny expression of surprise on his face.  Eventually they all got tired and literally collapsed int sleep...after all, I've read that cats sleep 80% of their day!

#14 DO-NOTHING DAY

I simply love those days when you can sit and do nothing, not that there is nothing to do just that you don't want to and don't have to.  One channel, one room, a few actions, roaming thoughts and breathing.  I don't know what else there is to say...

#13 WATCHING THE OFFICE WITH SARAH

I know that Sarah loves the TV show The Office but I also enjoy it.  It makes it even more special when I get a chance to watch it with her.  I get to see her smile when she likes a joke.  When something makes me laugh out loud, I get to see her smile when she tells me "Mom, it wasn't that funny."  But it was that funny!  Just awesome!

#12 RUNNING

I know that you are probably thinking that I have said I hate running (Mom...), but my personal experience with it isn't why I am writing about it, it's running in general. I run on my school's cross country team, and I know that I do complain about running and how terrible I feel and how stiff I am, but something about running is awesome. I don't know quite what it is. If it's how amazingly fast you can lose weight by using it daily. Or the fact that when you run (or when I do at least) I never think, I only think beforehand how bad it's going to be and after about how I did. I've actually tried to think and run at the same time but I can only focus on... well, nothing, I don't even know how or why. Or maybe its that reliable satisfaction after running that, when not compared to others, but yourself and only yourself, just makes you feel: wow, I can do that. Maybe it's the fact that it is a sport and yet it doesn't have to be. Or perhaps it's the superhuman strength of some and others the superhuman persistence. Or even the transportation aspect of it, you're moving (fast or slow), racing, running to a destination that can only be described to yourself or someone who's been there before...

It's just awesome.

#11 GEORGE GALLOPING THROUGH THE HOUSE

People often say they love to hear the sound of little feet pitter pattering through the house.  Well, I love to hear the sound of our cat George galloping through our house.  He's so funny because he sometimes will randomly tear through the house like a wild banshee!  Just for the joy of it.  He loves to run up and down the stairs.  He's always done this but now he's not even a kitten anymore.  He is six years old.  That just makes me smile more.  If he was a person, he'd be one of those happy care free types.

#10 ERIN BEING GREAT AT BIOLOGY

There is something that makes me so happy when I can watch one of my kids do something that they love...and do it well.  Erin loves biology!  If that is not in itself a great enough thing, she also is really good at it!  I don't know if she realizes it, but I love to watch her when she is studying something that she loves.  I like to watch her and imagine her in a lab coat working on some complex problem.  Hee hee.  It always brings a smile to my face.

#9 TOM BEING A HANDYMAN

Tom has two traits that in combination make him an especially great husband.  One is that he is a great handyman and the other is that he supports me in all the things I do.  Recently I needed him to make something that I needed to use for one of the responsibilities that I took on for myself.  Not only does he have the talents to make this, but he jumped on board with no hesitations.  He didn't even think to say that it is something that I chose to get myself into and he should stay out of it.  He immediately agreed to help me.  That was just a great feeling!