I love the pitter patter of J’s feet as he makes his way to our room every morning. I love when my dad asks if I want coffee and brings me over a freshly brewed cup. I love when my husband brings O down from her room and she has her morning milk in bed with us.

I love routine. I love my daily walks with O. I love the slow life that has naturally accompanied life in the countryside. I love that through taking walks around our neighborhood, I witness the change of seasons, the life of farmers, the cultivation of a garden. The tilling of the earth, the methodical planting of seeds.

I love watching my parents with my kids. I love that I get to see glimpses of how they looked at me by the way they look at my daughter. I love that my dad still calls me his 아가씨, his little girl.

I love crossing things off my to-do list. I love my bullet journal. I love filling in the bubbles in my habit tracker.

I love fall. I love the crisp air that it brings. I love “sweater weather”. I love the smell that wafts up from leaves on the ground, the crunch as I walk over and through them and how it brings me back to a time when “back-to-school” was an annual occurrence.

I love a clean house.

I love reciting lines from “Elf” with my husband.

I love a good sandwich. As of late, it’s with lots of guacamole and some pesto spread on each slide of bread and a whole lot of arugula, tomatoes and some turkey in between. Sometimes, even a pickle.

I love me a good pampering in the name of self-care. Anything from painting my nails to a face mask, to the real deal of a massage or facial at an aesthetician.

I love seeing things through the wonder of my 16-month-old. The bark of a nearby dog, the sudden flight of a bird, the swaying of reeds in the wind.

I love learning new things and rediscovering the old alongside my almost five-year-old. His current obsessions: all things ancient civilizations – Egypt, Aztec, Mayan.

I love visits from friends and family. I love face-to-face conversations. I love quality time with loved ones.

-Post inspired by Laura Rennie