I felt well enough this morning to go for a walk with Tom and one of the dogs. Knowing we would walk by the market and that we were out of coffee and cream, I grabbed my money and a light reusable grocery bag and headed out. Yesterday we had crazy storms and rain, but today the sky was clear and a nice breeze blew the raindrops off the leaves of the trees onto my skin. Delicious. The simple actions of being able to go for a walk, smelling roses mixed with low tide and seeing the new crop of Queen Anne’s Lace along the creek bed were blessings I did not know I craved.

And then…

We did the usual loop that takes us by the harbor full of boats, then by my church and library, and finally we were at the little market. I popped in to get the coffee and cream and placing them in my bag, joined Tom and the dog for the walk home.

A few minutes later I noticed how good the cold pint of cream felt leaning against my hip through the bag and told Tom it almost felt like an ice pack (one of my recent bff’s with the awful bone pain from chemo). Then, this made the walk even better… Tom said, “Watch out you don’t melt it. You’re hot stuff, you know.” I smiled the rest of the way home. Really smiled. Despite all the changes my body is going through, my man still thinks I’m hot. OK, I know it’s shallow and certainly not solving world peace or even my cancer, but the endorphins that were released from all that smiling must count for something. Mostly, I’m just reminded once again how good it is to have someone who loves me just as I am and makes me smile every day.

My hope for each person reading this blog is that you have someone in your life that makes you smile. Really smile. A smile that lasts for several blocks of a walk. And just in case no one has told you recently, YOU are hot. SMILE!

~Mug Up Mermaid