Dear Mr. Wordsworth

Mr. William Wordsworth

said something lovely when he wrote this thought:

"There are in our existence spots of time,
That with distinct pre-eminence retain

A renovating virtue, whence, depressed
By false opinion and contentious thought,

Or aught of heavier or more deadly weight,

In trivial occupations, and the round

Of ordinary intercourse, our minds

Are nourished and invisibly repaired;

A virtue, by which pleasure is enhanced,

That penetrates, enables us to mount

When high, more high, and lifts us up when fallen."

In the last 48 hours, I have had a few such moments that have actually made me stop, while they were happening, and enjoy them so much. These are the little bits and pieces and types of things that I hold onto and will think about when I'm needing something happy to think about. These little slivers of time have made me appreciate and love my life. I decided I'd share a few of them with you.

Just the other night, we'd put the boys in bed and were upstairs getting dinner ready in the kitchen. Listening to Christmas carols and such and watching the rice on the stove. Mr. Campbell was standing with his back against the kitchen counter over by the sink. Out of the blue, he said to me, "Come here." It was that kind of tone. I walked over there into a big, warm hug, and, well...I'll just say that I got kissed in the kitchen!

I pulled one of my sons out of bed before lying down to go to sleep that night, just because I wanted to hold him while he was sleeping. That peace and serenity fill my soul with a sense of profound stillness and gratitude, even reverence.

The next morning, I awoke and looked across the bedroom in the darkness. My boys' beds are side by side, and there they were. Literally forehead to forehead, and giggling. I just can't tell you how sweet.

At the end of a morning nap, my other son (not to be confused with the one I had held the night before) woke up. I could hear him jabbering in his bed. I had been lying in bed, too, and I picked him up and snuggled him in next to me for a few moments before his brother woke up. Again, right in the moment, as I was snuggling him in, he just looked at me with a big smile, and just kept right on smiling at me with a sweet, full grin. It was a look that just seemed to say how pleased he was to be able to snuggle, how glad he was I'd picked him up, how much he loved this -- like I do.

I, just like everyone else, have days where life is painful and hard, where everything seems a little bit off and I feel discontented -- to say the least. But, overwhelmingly, I'd have to say that most of the time...
I get a sensation for how good life feels, the people that make it, the love that blesses it, the tender mercies and blessings that fill it, the grace and holiness -- even sacredness -- these moments all have. I feel heaven's attendant blessings, mercy, love and watchcare, and I feel humbled because of these multitudinous gifts from above.