Little Loves

I am not really a Valentine's Day kind of girl. Not into decorating my house in pink and red marshmellow goo frippery, not into having weird expectations of gifts/flowers/chocolates/sonnets/hallmark tributes from my husband and not into the old obligatory, "everyone in your class gets a valentine or else" speech given by my mother every year until I finally reached middle school emancipation.

I know I sound like Scrooge but I really, truly don't get Valentine's Day as a cultural phenomenon. I do, however, love love. I made an effort this past Sunday to bury my smirking inner Valentine Scrooge and think of every day things that light up my life and remind me of love.

Here is a small list of the little things in life I find value in or appreciate that mean...oh so very much...to my heart.

-a warm rain shower in my hometown

-newly budding roses in the garden

-cookie crumbs on a plate

-vintage hair pins

-dog shows

-kneading bread dough

-lace of all kinds

-quilts

-lavender

-warm pie

-English Breakfast tea

-garbanzos

-reading my Bible first thing in the morning

-a framed picture of my great grandmother Ana in her heyday. I feel in my bones that we are exactly alike. And that small knowing feels so good.

-a framed picture of my sister and I sitting on a log bridge in the middle of a North Carolina forest as young girls.

-my mother's hands

-my father's eyes

-every single one of my grandparent's laughs. They all have wonderful laughs and I will do just about anything to hear them.

-mangos

- reading stories about pioneer women

-the way my husband sings

-my eldest son's feet

-my youngest son's mouth

-both of my children's voices.

-writing about Cuba

-the vintage flower bed sheets at my Abuela's house. They smell like her. Soft and reassuring. Whenever I happen to sit on her bed, I always bring a pillow to my face and breathe in, the scent of those old sheets brings tears to my eyes every time.

-watching my Tia Antonia make empanadas

-advent wreaths

-prayer books

-antique books

I feel warm and fuzzy just remembering all those things. And those aren't even the major things in life I love, just the small things that remind me to be grateful, or to smile, or to know that I am surrounded by love and family, to know that no matter what day of the year I am upheld and cherished by my Savior. I am thankful for the little loves that remind us of the big loves.