My Favorite Things

'Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens
Brown paper packages tied up with strings
These are a few of my favorite things'

Hmmmm.... What are some of my favorite things?

Towering thunderheads and lightning
Vivid sunsets, rainbows and spring flowers
Rain on a tin roof (in Guatemala)
Colorado -Majestic peaks, aspens in the wind, mountain streams, and the smell of pine trees and campfires
Walks around Lake Zorinsky and the Wabash Trace
Summer art fairs and concerts
Saturdays
Heart to heart chats with friends
Fun times with family
Orange, red and yellow leaves in October and crunchy leaves in November
Christmas- shopping malls, wrapped presents, tree and light displays, pageants and carols
Sitting next to a sunny window in winter

Snow days (yes, teachers love them too!) 

Canadian geese flying north and melting snow

Bald eagles and pelicans on Lake Manawa in early spring

Teachable, 'Aha' moments

Children's giggles and unconditional love

Starbuck's iced teas, Zio's chicken pesto pizza, chewy chocolate chip cookies

Music that touches the spirit- Misty Edwards, Rita Springer, Julie Meyers, Kathy Troccoli

Impromptu weekend road trips.

Hot air balloon night glows

Thinking about Heaven

Jesus!

What are your favorite things?

A Step Back Into Time

I went to a tractor parade a few weeks ago.  It was an hour of watching old green, yellow, orange and red and some really old brown tractors mosey by. Now, I know that they all have names but I have to admit that I am not a tractor connoisseur.  This is an annual celebration at the Carsten Centennial Farm in Shelby, Iowa.  My dad sets up his tool display in the barn, my uncles drive tractors and old cars in the parade, and my cousins and nieces join me in getting lost in the corn maze.  

It's a blast from the past- a welcome step back into a time that is no more.  A time that seemed slower and simpler in many ways.  A time without locked doors and security checks.  A time when stores were closed on Sundays, farmers stopped their work in the fields and spent the day going to church in the morning and visiting friends in the afternoon.  We left our phone attached to our kitchen wall and didn't have a clue who called when we were gone.  The only texting we did was with paper, pens, envelopes and stamps.

 Pies and cookies came out of an oven not a package and milk came straight from the cow.  Eggs were nabbed from the chickens' nests and you only hoped that a rooster wasn't there to protest.  We walked beans, detassled corn, made hay, and sowed oats (not the wild kind). 

Here's what I think, 'Back then, life was hard but simple.  Today it's easy but complicated.'  I'm not sure which I would prefer.  It would be hard for me to give up email, my cell phone or Ipod. I would never be on time without the microwave or my hair dryer. 

However, for one day a year, it's wonderful to leave the complications behind, slow down to a tractor's putt and enjoy the simple things of life- sitting with dad in the tool barn, eating homemade ice cream made by the church ladies, trying to keep up with my nieces in the corn maze, catching up with friends and family, and yes- even watching old green, yellow, orange and red tractors mosey by.