Love

I have always loved the quote: We love things and use people, when we need to love people and use things.

I still love that quote, but I have to say I love lots and lots and lots of...

Things: horse skull, turtle earrings, cashmere neck scarf, movies, mattresses, enamel pans, ferries.

Food: biscuits and gravy, JEAN'S biscuits and JANE'S gravy not Patty's EggNest, brown beans and cornbread, fried chicken, watermelon, brown sugar cookies, candy, icing, pineapple.

Movies: Too many to name.

People: siblings, sons, daughter-in-law, Bo, grandson, cousins, especially grandson, colleagues, friends, especially, especially grandson, other assorted in-laws, nieces, nephews, their bo's and girlfriends, my son's friends, book club ladies, occasionally someones dog or cat, and especially grandson.

Places: Oklahoma, red dirt roads, red rocks, rose rocks, red barns, Hawaii, Pacific Northwest, Neah Bay, Mt Rainier, Olga Bay, The Grand Canyon, lava flows, any ocean I have ever seen, islands, desert, mountains, homes built into the hillside, wheat fields, the moon. Lots of red dirt in that list, it must be genetic.

Ideas: liberty, liberalness, rebelliousness, spirituality, things with few rules.

Activities: dance, drives, dinners, chats, laughter, coffee drinking, movie watching, book reading, playdates, reunions in Oklahoma, California, Washington or on a cruise ship.

Dreams: cruising, going to the moon, being debt free.

Luxuries: hot shower, flush toilet, running water, electricity, gasoline, coffee pot, microwave, computer.

Job: keeps the rain off my head and my feet shod.

I love seeing my son's grown, having known the Carrillo's, driving cars fast, putting Jane in the floorboard, people thriving, living life, smiling, communicating, having babies, infinity, the immensity of the universe and how wonderfully small I am in it.

Happy Valentines Day to each heartbeat out there, from 1 day old Leonora to the two old ladies on Facebook who have been friends for 94 years.

A heartbeat doesn't have to be important, directed, disciplined, successful, elected, or selected, it just has to live. One life at a time, one year at a time, one day at a time, one heartbeat at a time, because this too shall pass.