little slices of heaven

There is something to be said for taking pleasure in the little things.  It is easy to get caught up in the difficulties of everyday life and to focus on what has gone wrong in the day, in your relationships or in your life in general.  And it becomes so easy to let that black cloud block out the sun.  Some days I need to remind myself to stop and to look carefully for the little slices of heaven I experience that are so easily over-looked.
A few days ago, I stood in my kitchen with sunlight streaming gently through the kitchen window, hulling a bucket of strawberries.  I love the smell of fresh strawberries. Crushing them for jam, they smelled and tasted like sunshine. It brought a smile to my face to remember my kids, crouched down in the strawberry field excitedly, looking for the biggest, ripest berries.
  Gentle sunset sunshine, the smell of fresh strawberries, the cool breezes of evening floating through my kitchen.  That is a small part of what I think Heaven will be like.
Having my youngest daughters arms wrap around me and crush me with love. Watching my son, follow my husbands footsteps trying so hard to be just like him with the kind of hero worship that all sons should get to experience with their fathers.
Sitting out in my backyard with a glass of white wine, watching the sun paint the sky in a breath taking show of setting colours.
These are the simple pleasures that remind me that I am blessed. And that I should never take that for granted.