Small Things

These are the things making me happy these days:

The other day, I was walking in my neighborhood in search of a garage sale announced (very largely, I might add) at the mouth of my street. Halfway up the alleged garage sale street , a girl and her mom sat in their front yard.

"Hi!" the girl said.

"Hi," I said. I turned to her mom. "Do you know anything about a garage sale?"

"Sorry. Haven't seen anything."

The little girl ran up to me and gave me a delicate lavender flower. "Here."

"Thank you." At that point, I noticed that these flowers covered their front yard.

"They popped up last year. I transplanted them to the corner and told my husband not to mow them. They must've reseeded because here they are again."

I stood in awe of my gift, so easily given. The girl's mother and I chatted for another minute, then I left in search of the garage sale. I never found the sale, but I wandered happily with my flower, smiling at it. When I got home, I pressed it in a book with wax paper. This little girl had received a surprise gift in a yard full of flowers, and her inclination was to share her treasure.

I have tomatoes in my gardent!

Everyday I visit them, cooing them to ripeness. I also have peppers, strawberries, rosemary and basil. The cilantro has taken over. It's gone crazy!

I have random flowers growing in my backyard.

It may be a weed, but it's pretty all the same.

My trees are blooming, rejoicing in the warmth and sunlight.

And that's what's making me happy.