Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. A friend who’d been out of work for a while started a new job this morning.

2. A friend who had a baby last month sent new photos of her daughter.

3. I spent the evening at the park reading amidst the irises.

How about you? What’s been beautiful in your world lately?

Hey there. There are a lot of really important things that are not beautiful in the world right now and it’s easy to get caught up in that and to feel that the negatives are winning. But they aren’t. They’re just the loudest. There are beautiful, positive things, too, either occurring naturally or of our own or someone else’s making. That’s what these posts on Thursdays are meant to focus on — finding the kind, the wondrous, or the beautiful moments that are just waiting for us to see them.

Here are three of those moments from my past week:

1. Every vacant lot, field, verge, or tuft of plants are dotted in buttercups at the moment. They’ll be gone in two weeks, but for now I’m appreciating the cheerful jolt of color every time I see it.

2. As I was reading posts in a forum on Ravelry leading up to the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival, one poster suggested adding insoles to galoshes to make being in them all day more palatable. As I wore my wellies all day on Friday about town, I was reminded how much more comfortable mine used to be when I had more supportive footbeds I’d switch into them. I picked up a new pair (I’d never replaced the old pair after I drove off with the hiking boots containing them on the roof of my car) on Saturday and my feet, hips, and knees were so grateful on Sunday.

3. Rudi and I were biking back from the Mets-Nationals game (yay, Mets!) this afternoon when we passed some of the local daycare child caterpillars out for their afternoon stroll. I dinged my bell merrily for them as we each went our own way, and the wee children stared from their group strollers and walking ropes and waved.

How about you? What’s been beautiful in your world lately?

Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. Playing with kids in my new volunteer gig.

2. The first outdoor concert of the season, followed in short order by the first bar (patio) concert since COVID began.

3. Strawberries in our yogurt. Risotto with fiddleheads. A salad with pea shoots, garlic chives, and asparagus. Stir fry with pak choy from the garden

How about you? What’s been beautiful in your world lately?

Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. Daytime baseball

2. Azaleas in bloom

3. A trip to the beach that coincides with a bonfire and marshmallow roast.

How about you? What’s been beautiful in your world lately?

Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. A long weekend at home with my parents.

2. Sleeping in every day.

3. Rudi bought me a present — a new Wild Places print of D.C. as defined by its literary outposts. In addition to pinpointing all the libraries and bookstores, all the geographic features are done in words, such as “Potomac River” or “Rock Creek Park.” I adore it.

How about you? What’s been beautiful in your world lately?

Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. My new glasses, complete with their progressive lenses, arrived. The woman who’d sold them to me warned they weren’t for everyone and that there could be a learning curve. I was pleasantly surprised to find that I mostly got the hang of them pretty quickly, although there are certain head angles that invoke fun house mirror moments, so I can see how someone might be put off by that.

2. A grand slam is pretty special in any baseball game, but even more so when it comes from your team’s clutch hitter in the first game of the season you attend in person.

3. A late afternoon rainstorm caused some cancellations for the volleyball practice I’d scheduled for tonight. Eventually, there were only three of us standing and we opted to go out to supper instead. It was nice to talk and laugh, and my friend, Neal, and I chatted until quite late.

What’s been beautiful in your world lately?