On Sunday while out and about my low tire pressure light came on. So Monday morning I took the car into my mechanic. Thankfully they could see me right away without an appointment. Yea! I ran over a nail but they were able to fix it and I was back on my way in no time. If there is a nail or screw in the road my car will find it. The best part was the mechanic who worked on my car was shorter than me so my the front seat of my car was not in the back seat like it usually is when the 6’4″ tall mechanic works on my car. It is a little thing but I appreciated it very much besides my tire being fixed fast. It got me on a crusade to look for little things to appreciate and be thankful for over the past thirty six hours.

One thing my coworkers were happy about is that I have no voice due to a cold. I am not sneezing, coughing and I’m feeling better, I just don’t have a voice. I did not complain or say I was not feeling well. I carried on and worked but had many unsolicited remedies offered on how to treat my cold. The other response I had to my voice was laughter. I thought it was nice as work as been tense and people are very anxious lately, so if my squeaky frog like voice made people laugh all the better. Hearing my voice made me laugh a few times tonight.

Yesterday while walking a dog through the streets and alleyways of town I stopped to look at the alleys as the trees, shrubs and flowers are blooming. It looked lovely. I love walking through the alleys as it is where people let their guard down in terms of their homes. It is not always as pristine as the front yard, some people have cool gardens, while others have neat sculptures and knick knacks. I love the variety of tulips, daffodils, dogwoods and pansies that are blooming now. I stopped and took the middle picture at one of my pet sitting jobs that has a fifty foot fence line filled with lilac bushes that are in bloom. The smell was wonderful. I love lilacs.

The bottom picture I took at another pet sitting job where I walk the dog every day while the owners work. They have great gardens on a small plot of land. The dog and I take a lovely walk every day and see and hear so many birds. The dog is gracious enough to sit and let me take lots of pictures of the flowers, trees and turtles. We have recently discovered a large box turtle living in the pond we walk around. First time ever! There has always been fish, bullfrogs and lilies in the pond but I’ve never seen a turtle at this pond. There are other ponds in the community that have lots and lots of turtles. I often see them sunning themselves.

I took the top picture on Sunday. I was outside for a good portion of Sunday afternoon. I really wanted to see the rocket launch from NASA’s facility at Wallops Island. The last launch I saw was at night and I could see the rocket’s engines light up as it lifted across the sky. This launch was during daylight hours and I only saw contrails but it was fun. The sunset was beautiful Sunday night, the spring peepers have quieted down but the bullfrogs have become loud. Purple Martins and tree swallows are building nests all around the property. And the ospreys are hunting on the ponds out front and the river out back.

While driving through town today I saw a young mother with three small children, one in a stroller and two alongside. The two boys alongside her made me laugh. One was on his bicycle with training wheels and the other had a stick horse, cowboy hat and took great delight running ahead of his mother and brother. I wonder if he had theme music, his hat was wonderful. Then at the post office I was in line behind a man with the most walking magnificent cane. It was wooden with many travel stickers on it. I really wanted to ask him about all the stickers and if he had been to all the countries listed. It was impressive.

I hope you find delight in little things and that your voice is singing loud. Don’t hide your light and like my little cowboy friend run ahead every once in a while!