A comment made by a co-worker over 20 years ago crawled under my skin and took up permanent residence:  "I had to learn how to enjoy my own company."

My friend had always assumed he'd leave college with plans to marry shortly thereafter, but it hadn't worked out that way; he spent a lot of years living alone before finding The One.

It was an odd comment to me, and as I processed the thought, I realized I had never lived alone–first, with my family, then at college in a dorm full of girls, and after that, graduating to an apartment with two roommates. 

In seasons of temporary isolation, though, it was helpful to consider that "enjoying my own company" was a learned process; and part of that process was discovering what I liked about myself…the unique quirks and idiosyncrasies that make me, well…"me".  

One of my inclinations I like best about myself is my wholehearted delight in The Simple and The Ordinary.  Little things that others might overlook, or if they do notice, think silly or annoying, can alter the course of my day for the better. 

Like…

getting caught in the rain without an umbrella…

my tween son telling me I blessed him just because I snuggled with him at bedtime…

being the first entry when someone googles "best apple pie in the world"…

finding a bazillion sand dollars at my favorite beach and videoing a wild 10' alligator within spittin' distance…

pretty boxes of Kleenex

Like snail-mailed kisses

walking through our neighborhood during the Christmas season to see all the kitschy yard decor, and having a grin forced out of me when we discover Rudolph with a Bozo clown nose…

LIKE THE RED CARDINAL I JUST NOTICED OUTSIDE MY WINDOW THAT FLEW AWAY THE MOMENT I TURNED ON MY CAMERA!!!

You get the picture (just not one of the bird).

Anyways…

This week I had one of those relished moments that wouldn't mean a thing to some people, but it absolutely blessed my heart!  And it involved doing laundry, and if you can be blessed doing laundry, well that's Complicated and Extraordinary, not merely Simple and Ordinary.

I always check pockets before washing because a) there's always the danger of destroying my kids' lunch cards, hand-stamped pieces of paper, and b) years ago, I didn't check pockets, and a lipstick-painted load of lights later, I learned an expensive lesson.

On Monday, I reached into my daughter's jacket pocket and felt a small piece of paper which my brain processed as "Ah ha!  A lunch card!", before pulling it out to confirm.  How much fun to discover I was mistaken; it wasn't a lunch card at all.  It was a pocket full of sunshine (and even more precious was one of her friends had slipped it into her pocket).

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So…I'm curious.  What are the things you've discovered you most like about yourself and/or do Simple and Ordinary things capture your heart?  Please do tell…your stories will be happy little sunbeams shining through my window :).

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