My Favorite Things

Some of my favorite things are (in no particular order): Huckleberries, Delicious Apples, dogs, Bible, animals,  nature, night sky, antiques, blue sky with white clouds, Jesus, sunshine, lighthouses, nature, old barns, flowers, trees, God, deer in my yard, pie, Sound of Music, birds, writing, photography, merry-go-rounds, sandwiches, trains, books, Northern Lights, family, hiking, genealogy, traveling, Law & Order: SVU and Criminal Intent, tea parties with granddaughters and friends, mountains, lakes, oceans, reading, classical music, gospel music and more. This is one of my favorite pictures, I took a few years ago, of a bee in a Dahlia.

Are favorites fair? I’m taking a stand against certain favorites. I have no favorite children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews. Each one is so different, unique, beautiful, lovely…

It’s impossible for me to have a favorite child. I have five children, each with her/his own personalities, strengths, talents, gifts, abilities, appearance. I love each one and don’t know what I’d do without each one. I thank God for Pam, Ted, Tim, Christy, Rob and their spouses. No favorites. In this picture are: Pam, Rob, myself, Jerry, Ted, Christy and Tim.

I have 16 grandchildren from age 27 down to five! Andrew, Katie, Matthew, Tyler, Kaleb, Annie, Max, Megan, Haleigh, Miller, Sydney, Elmise, Bella, Mason, Armon and Maddie. Not one is a favorite. Each one has his/her own strengths, personalities, talents, gifts, abilities and appearance. In this picture are nine of my grandchildren. How could I have a favorite?

Nieces and nephews? No favorites. Great nieces and great nephews? No favorites. I love them each the same. I came close here to having a favorite great niece, but I was recently with most of them and I saw their strengths and their love and I knew I couldn’t have a favorite. I love them all! Julieann, Austin, Mackenzie, Taylor, Lauren, Paige, Laura, Kimberlyn, Courtney and Jenna. No favorite great nephews either: Rich, Luke, Richard,  Justin, Sean, Joe, Andrew, Joshua, Micah and Braden. This picture is Laura and me. Oh dear, I’m afraid I’ve missed a few great nieces and nephews. They are ones I’ve only met once, I’ll try to name them: Lindsey, Robin and Jonathan. Then there is Ashlee, Kaylee and Jacob who just joined the family in Alaska. Hopefully I’ll get to meet them sometime.

Cousins? Now here is where I draw the line!!! Of all my cousins I do have one favorite cousin, Judy. We’re close to the same age. We share the love of animals. We lived sort of close for about three years as girls so we spent a lot of time together. Her mother and my mother were sisters. Favorite second cousin: Yes. My most favorite second cousin  in all the world is Leroy. We were in the same class and same room in school for two and a half years. We lived near each other during that time. We were best friends. Years later, we each named one of our babies after each other, without even knowing it at the time!!! His grandmother was my dad’s sister.

So what about favorites? Do you have favorites?  What are your favorites?