Verrado Mountains This Morning

“Joy is not the absence of suffering.  It is the presence of God.” – Robert Schuller

The older I get the more I find joy in the simple.  Don’t get me wrong, I’d have grandiose joy being whisked away on a dream vacation or winning a lottery…..but the every day joy that puts a smile on my face is coming from the simple, the divine.  Instead of list them all here at once, I’d rather give them the spotlight they deserve.

So, first on my list of simple pleasures…..ooohing and aaahhhing over our surroundings with my children. It’s no secret that the desert and I have had a tumultuous relationship.  However, in the spring we make peace, so hardly a day goes by that I’m not pointing out to the kiddos a beautiful sunset, an amazing moon, a deer across the street grazing and our flowers beginning to bloom.  Occasionally some clouds settle over the mountains, we admire the view all the way to the bus stop and I wish for my camera.  Thank you to my Roo for forgetting his backpack today because I had an excuse to grab the camera and the shot.  So fun to try to snap the picture, so thankful for the beauty, so good to absorb the joy and start my day with awareness….smile.