Life's Little Joys

I was thinking the other day how excited I get when I see a deer. Yes, just the common white tailed deer. Now, I have seen quite a few deer in my day. Hundreds, even thousands, I'm sure. I still love seeing them and think they are so beautiful each time. I hope I never lose that joy when I see a deer. That got me thinking. What other things have I done or seen or heard a million times about which I hope I never grow tired. These are a few that came to mind.
I love the sound of a train. It makes me stop what I'm doing and listen for just a minute. There aren't that many trains anymore (although I'm betting they'll be making a comeback in the next 20 years) but when I was young, there were a lot of trains. Both sets of my grandparents lived by the railroad tracks. Back then, there was a train through there about every 20 minutes. I loved it. We would run back to the creek (or crik if you prefer), because the tracks were on the other side, and wave to the engineer and guy(s) in the caboose. It was so exciting when they waved back. it was just fun. Once, as an adult, my three siblings and I were hiking in the New River Gorge when we heard a train coming through the gorge. Without saying a word, all four of us simultaneously stopped and stood silent as the train went by. It was beautiful.
Another thing I hope I never grow tired of is flying on a private plane. I've been fortunate to have had the opportunity to do that twice in my life. Wow was it exciting. Walking right into the airport, five minutes before departure, no security check, a car waiting when you land taking you whereever you need to go. I just felt giggly. I hope I never lose that feeling. What fun! I don't want THAT experience to ever become common place. That would just be boring.
I realized the other day that I really love those great big windmills. I know, I know. Lots of people don't, but I do. I don't find them obtrusive at all. I find them very reassuring and peaceful actually. I've seen a bunch of those here in WV and other places, but have never stopped being in awe. I hope I don't.
I love flowers and am always taken by the incredibly beautiful colors that nature creates every spring. When you think about it, it's really quite amazing. I always think about how amazing it is, and I think it helps me enjoy them that much more.
Little meandering steams make me feel really good inside. It feels peaceful and it reminds me of when I was young. We had a stream beside our house when I was little. We built dams, fished for minnows off the bridge and floated boats, bought and homemade, down that stream. We searched for crawdads, found box turtles and could cool off on a hot day. Water is just calming. I hope I never lose that feeling no matter how many times I see a steam or creek and put my feet in it. If you've never done that, you're missing out - try it!
These are just a few of the things I hope I never grow tired of experiencing. I get so much joy from them, I would hate to get to a point that I was taking them for granted. This all plays into the whole "attitude of gratitude". Do you appreciate the little things that bring you joy? Einstein said there are 2 kinds of people, those who think everything is a miracle and those who think nothing is. Which are you? I'm sure there are many simple things in your life that if you pay attention and recognize them, they can be part of the plan to help you keep calm and carry on.