The media has been feeding us an endless stream of really challenging news, for a long time.

And it feels as if there may be no end in sight.

So, once again – to balance things out – a random list of things that are pretty great…

The swath of neon brilliance that blankets the earth for a brief period of time every fall, is enough to make you breathe a great big sigh of grateful disbelief.  Mother Nature is an incredibly benevolent magician to provide us with this show, and the light that it casts, year after year.

Recently, we were on a raspberry picking expedition in wondrous (see above) northern New Mexico. On the drive home – windblown, an excellent soundtrack on, books in their laps, bellies full of berries, a riot of scenic color outside the window – Olive made an indiscernible sound. Cash and I both asked, “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” she answered, with a serene smile on her face. “I’m just happy.”
A pause.
“Me, too,” said Cash
“Meee, too.” I concurred
At the end of the day, aren’t joyful humans, decent humans? Just fill our kids up with simple things: awesome music, good stories, fresh food, and adventures. Perhaps keep them away from all they don’t need to know, in the moment, for as long as possible. Keep the anticipation. The magic. The gratitude. The wonder of it all – alive as long as possible. Simple tools. And maybe the only ones our kids need in order to lead us into a hopeful future.

“At the end of the day, aren’t joyful humans, decent humans? Just fill our kids up with simple things: awesome music, good stories, fresh food, and adventures.”

The other day, a man wandered into the Bee Hive. It was during a particularly rough patch in current events. He asked me, “Are there kids’ books that teach children to be decent humans?”
It caught me off guard a bit. “Um.” I looked around the store. All I saw were golden tomes of acceptance. Courage. Perspective. Compassion. Decency.
“I believe so.”
“God, I hope so.”
And off he went.
I’ve given it a lot of thought since that encounter. And I truly believe that kids’ books – for all different age ranges – are where it’s at. The good ones – and there are countless – are full of characters of all different ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds, family situations, mental and physical health conditions, gender and sexual orientations, and in various stages of the awkward, challenging, confusing adolescence process. These sensitive, broad-ranging, wide-scoped stories are preparing our kids to be all-accepting, open-hearted, compassionate, non-judgemental individuals.

There is this song by Jim Morrison that I sort of happened upon. It is a rich, twangy, melodic instrumental that landed in my Spotify song library. Every time it comes on – its joyful string perfection. It came on in the car recently and Cash sighed – “I love this song.”
“Me too.”
“Where did you find it?” he asked
“I don’t remember. But its a pretty good score, right?”
“So good.”
Those little, unexpected gifts that find their way into your life – songs, people, a quote, an experience. You’re not sure how or where or when. But you do know that your life is so much more lovely since they arrived. And you can’t quite remember what you did without them.

Gouda goat cheese shredded onto a slice of fresh, crusty bread – put under the broiler so that the cheese gets melt-y and crispy, but the bread stays soft
= pure gratitude.