i am so thankful for the little things in life.
i wake up in the morning, and grab my phone to shut off the obnoxious ode to joy that breaks my peaceful slumber, and glare with fuzzy eyes at the little blob of silver in my hand. if i didnt love my phone so much, i'd chuck it against the wall just to sleep a bit longer. alas, i slide it open, and to my delight have 15 text messages from late night friends saying goodmorning to me at 1am, probably knowing i'll get it when i wake up, or facebook status updates from friends already awake and notifying me of their hatred for early mornings. i love those friends... we understand each other so well. those text messages bring me joy. i am loved.
i stumble into the bathroom and wait silently for faith to spit out her toothpaste and relinquish the bathroom to me. she perkily glances at me and obnoxiously saunters by, and smiles, knowing if i had a voice i'd say "i hate everyone". i shut the door behind her and strip. the shower wakes me up, and i am thankful for my hard water, and i breathe in the smell of my oatmeal honey body wash that smells like shauna mccarthy's famous cookies. shauna mccarthy's cookies are joy joy joy down in my heart.
alive and ready to enter the world, i shove contacts into my eyes and the hazy world outside my shower doors comes into focus... ah the foggy mirror. and what's this? faith has left me a note in the foggy mirror... or did i leave that for her last week? no matter, it says "i love you" and i smile, because who doesnt want to hear THAT in the morning? joy joy JOOOOOY.
dressed and blowdried and powdered, i walk to the car with my lunch and purse in one hand, and my cell phone and sunglasses in the other. we drive away from the apartment complex and i buckle up, anticipating the morning terror. as we exit the parking lot, faith's cell phone starts: "bling bling bling bling". all her text messages are coming in, and as soon as they do, she leaps for her phone sitting in the door handle, and the steering wheel follows her sharply to the left. after screaming as we nearly collide - for the 900th time this year - with the median in the winding mountain road, i breathe out and release my grip on the roof handle as we pause for a few minutes at the stop sign. the stop sign... it brings me joy. so much joy. off we go to the freeway where life is safer at 70mph in snow, than at 10mph with faith texting.
at work my boss walks in all smiley on her morning starbucks high, and asks me how my night went. i give her the 30 second update, and she makes me smile with her sarcastic comments about my "wild" nights of late night starbucks runs and movies... i'd put her up against your boss anyday. i set my purse in my bottom desk drawer, and turn my cell phone to silent as i put it on my desk. the office phones start ringing, and i smile as i hear "hello hope speaking, this is autumn speaking" and i say hello to my lovely best friend who can't wait to tell me the newest joy of married life and the "most wonderful husband on the planet". autumn... she brings me joy.
my phone flashes, and i see more texts coming in. i smile again as i realize my friends obviously cannot face their day without hearing from me. i feel so special. oh the witnessing of oneanother's lives via text message... its complicated, but effective if you are attached to your cell phone all day. "missing you" texts... they bring me joy.
my day flies by after a lunch date with friends, and an afternoon of phones and emails, and i glance at my phone a few times before i see "here" and i run down to faith's car and slide in. we've talk and realize we've both had a good day, but if id was sad, she'd know. faith always knows when i need something sparkly in a pretty glass. for now we decide the dinner menu, and what movie we'll watch, and i hear her pretty little giggles as she tells me what she learned about the Lord today, and i think to myself "faith... faith brings me joy."
