Things That Do Not Disappoint

I am disappointed in myself when I realize how long it has been since I have posted a blog here. Oh, I know. And you know too. I have reasons. Excuses, even. Be that as it may, I never intended to let such a gap grow between postings. But once gone, time can't be recaptured so we're moving on here.
By the way, please don't miss my column at http://www.mariashriver.com/blog/2013/02/how-do-you-keep-the-music-playing-nancy-calhoun. Maria is a wonderful advocate for Alzheimer's research and for family support and I love being one of her guides.

It's February and if anything good can be said about that, it is that it is usually predictable. No one expects too much from February. Like today. It is gray, windy and cold. Right. For Arizona, that is. Snow is predicted, inches not feet, and odds are that it won't happen. But one morning last week it was nearly 70 and I sat blissfully on the porch, the warmth spreading through my body, as I smiled into the sun. That is February too.

So I've been thinking about those wonderful things in life that never disappoint. Here are a few from my list and I'd love to hear what some of yours are:

• YoYo Ma - The man is pure genius, and every note he plays is like the cream center of a chocolate truffle...a really expensive one.
• Any movie with Dame Judi Dench. I had hoped to look a little like her when I got to be 70 but turned out more like Maggie Smith. Oh well, she's pretty fabulous, if not pretty!
• Christmas trees
• Warm croissants and fresh-squeezed (by someone else) orange juice at about 9:30 a.m.
• A brilliantly-written book you cannot put down and an uninterrupted day (or night) to absorb it into your bloodstream.
• Lobster anything!
• A puppy who just wants to lie in your lap and do that looking-up thing.
• Brahms
• A well-prepared margarita, warm tortilla chips, delicious salsa and a beach
• A foot massage
• A great TV series that you can't get out of your mind...Breaking Bad, Doc Martin, Downton Abbey...
• Mary Oliver poetry
• Live performance in a small venue - like an SCFPA concert
• Someone you love who never needs you to explain, and vice versa.
• Shoes that look great and never hurt your feet...I mean I'll bet that would be great!
• Videos of great and grandchildren...always does it for me!

Will you share some of your favorite things that never disappoint? I hope you will.

Wouldn't it be great if life were composed only of those things? No, of course not. That's how we thought when we were children. It even seemed possible then. We learned that life is this amazing path of hills and vallies, rising and falling with what seems like capricious, sometimes vicious, cycles of events that teach us about our humanity. Always something to learn just around the next bend.