Raindrops on roses,

And whiskers on kittens,

Are, in fact, not some of my favorite things.

My favorite things are

The view out my window when the sun comes up each morning,

Whether it's sunny, or rainy, or snowy, or foggy

The way the breeze cools me down on a bight summer day,

When the sun is just strong enough to be too hot

Lying in the grass and looking up at the sky,

Watching the clouds form dinosaurs and flying heros, then rapidly shapeshifting into a blob

The pinks and oranges of a magnificent sunset,

the sky blue of day on one side of the horizon, and the midnight blue of night time

On the other creating an elaborate painting in the sky

Laughing so hard I can’t breathe, then finally taking a breath of clean air,

Only to be triggered to laugh again, this time even harder than before

The feeling I get when I read a good book,

The way it keeps me wanting more

The smiles I share with random strangers,

Hoping I made their day just a little bit better

Playing board games at 1 in the morning,

Just because

Running in the rain and splashing in puddles,

Just for the fun of it

The way my dog can’t get enough of me,

When I come home at the end of the day

The way I try to stay awake,

When I just can’t keep my eyes open any more

The way a hug feels when I’ve cried my eyes out,

Or the way a good cry can make the world soften a little

The feeling I get after a really hard run,

Even though I’m soaking in sweat

The joy in a baby’s eyes,

Or the mischievous grin of a puppy

Curling up in a blanket on a rainy day,

And listening to it pour when it thunderstorms at night

Or the sound of music when I needed to hear it most