It has taken me a considerable amount of time to compile this list. The entire experience was rewarding as it really forced me to acknowledge the things that I hold close to my heart, and gave me an opportunity to reflect on the person I am and what in life is truly important to me.
So here it goes...
Dana's List of the BEST things in life
Black tea with a splash of milk after dinner. Fine tip markers that are good for colouring on things. The smell of rain on pavement in summertime.
Photosynthesis.
Bellybuttons. Clean sheets and shaved legs. Starry nights. Boys with backpacks full of gear. Spitting sunflower seeds while driving on a winding dirt road. When forest fires make the sun glow pink.
Apprehensive kisses. Music that encapsulates a moment. Wanton splatters of paint that you discover days later. Popcorn at the movies. Getting ready for dances in junior high.
Coffee and a good mug that you can wrap your hands around. Postcards. Cake for breakfast. Making crafts. Drive in movies. Pussy willows, stuffed animal wars, fern fights and tree houses - innocence.
Travel stink – and everything else that goes with traveling.
Used books and used book shop jungles. Tan skin and the smell of coconut lotion. Freckles. A cat’s attitude. Make-up as an art form. Gnarled trees and Brad’s enrapturing stories.
Aquamarine.
Playing Tag in the dusk until your mom calls you home. Crickets providing the soundtrack to the summer. The simplistic beauty of sea shells. The ugly factor of sturgeon. Fingers -especially my boney ones. Thinking about how mountains were formed.
Daydreams. Dancing at Honey. Falling asleep when the sun is already awake. Adrenaline. A gorgeous pair of high heels. Pushing a button (especially a red one) you don’t know the consequence of.
Capricious and impassioned singing in the car with the closest of friends.
Warm clothes out of the dryer. The fuzz on peaches. Campfires. The ambiance created by burning candles. Being the cause or catalyst of a beaming smile.
Secret languages between friends.
Thick, sweet smelling lotion. Reading on my front stoop-front stoops in general. Homemade salsa. The stamp on my forearm- evidence of last night’s debauchery that I forgot to scrub off before work.
Sleepovers.
Metaphors.
Red wine in a Bordeaux glass. A witty retort. Woolly slippers. My Granny's jewellery. Organic yoghurt that tastes like clouds. All encompassing hugs that melt worries. The excitement of talking to boys on the phone.
Jenn’s hair and how it’s always evolving. A boisterous card game that results in playful shouting and cursing. Long luxurious sleep-ins and a good morning stretch. The sound a pen makes when it scratches on paper.
Errant smiles tossed at strangers.
Curls as they crawl down a boy’s neck when his hair is getting a bit too long. Large glamorous sunglasses. Fervent and ranty conversations. Fuzzy caterpillars. People that work in coffee shops.
The feeling you get when you think you may be out of control running hard down a hill. Snuggling under a blanket. Watching the same movies repeatedly with your sisters.
Raucous laughter! -almost pee your pants laughter.
Treasures that cost a dollar. Polka dots. The way a summer dress can make you feel. Peeling a grapefruit, bugging Ben about his mom peeling his grapefruits. Documentaries.
Holding hands. Swirly doodles. The taste of the glue on stamps. TV theme songs from childhood. Birthday cards. Icing- especially when it is turned blue with food colouring. Bunny rabbits. Discussing life with my mother.
Passion.
Bum dimples. Dystopian novels. Nakedness. Smoke rings. Hosting and attending theme parties. Dressing up. A beautiful notebook. Silk scarves tied around necks. The boots I bought in Rome, the boots I couldn’t afford in Florence.
Short yet complex puzzles. Poetic lyrics that inspire. Smoothed blue or green glass you find on the beach. Burying my toes in warm sand. Watercolours. The dizzy euphoria created by the hooka.
Music in Tarantino movies. The Sexy Eyes. The sound shell earrings make when you sway. Brush strokes in impressionists paintings.
The smells of: freshly cut grass, coffee grounds, and cedar.
Friends that are life enduring. Being a big sister. Concert t-shirts and t-shirt irony. How, many years later, I still have all the lines to the movie Dazed and Confused memorized.
Being waterlogged from eating an entire watermelon.
History.
Gin and tonic extra lime. Anything really sour or really spicy. Reading the paper on a Saturday morning with coffee and friends. Visits to the hair dresser.
Private jokes. Live music. Aspirations.
Change.
James Joyce’s passage on snow falling in Dublin. Crossword solving with my roommate. Diction, especially the words: vermilion, papillon, effervescent, crux, intrepid, esoteric, liaison, bliss, rad, mirth, juxtapose....
Saying the same thing as someone else at the same time. Waking someone up with Butterfly Kisses.
The Unknown. The Known.
Misshapen chaos of well seeming forms. Fireworks. Original Nintendo. Lavender.
The rock star face.
Monkeys.
Looking someone deep in the eyes and trying hard not to be the first to look away.
Learning always learning. Chocolate. Fresh flowers. Precious moments captured on film. Mix tapes -even though they are on cd.
Whistling in songs. “That is what I hope I like I old.” A cosy cardigan. Silver rings with sparkly jewels. How sweat pools on my lower back in yoga.
The last sentence on the last page of a book.
Love, sweet love.
1 comment:
you finished it!
you picked some nice things. feels good to read it.
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