A few of ...

... my favorite things:

• listening to the rain pitter-patter on the roof while snuggled warm and dry in my bed.  Being nestled inside my down-filled sleeping bag in the tent while camping - especially backcountry camping, again warm and dry, is even better...
• sharing those close, intimate moments (and I'm NOT talking about sex here, cubs) with my best friend and spouse...
• listening to music - all kinds from Celtic to classical to comedy (you gotta dig the Arrogant Worms - and their Canadian, too. Bonus!) and pretty well everything in between - well maybe not everything as I'm not into rock (unless it's the rock of the '50s and 60s which I grew up with) or hiphop or ... well, I think you get the picture...
• watching Celtic Thunder on DVD (dig those butt shots ... ummmm ... ummmm ... I mean choreography.  Right.  Choreography.)...
• reconnecting with friends and others I'd grown away from...
• cooking - enjoying Papa Bear come home from a hard day's work, sniff the air and say "It smells like someone loves me" ...
• campfires while camping; bonfires at home...
• sunsets - especially when I'm alone with Papa Bear at an isolated spot beside a lake camera at the ready...
• times with family...
• the voices of children playing outside the window (not mine but the neighbours - the children I mean, not the window) ... 
• shared laughter...
• reading a good book - especially if it's about knitting...
• learning to knit - I get a thrill seeing something come to life below my needles.  I get a sense of victory at reading a pattern correctly and seeing the project through to completion.  I enjoy being able to jab the other bear in the den with my needles when he becomes irritating...
• crocheting ... again the wonderment of seeing something grow and take on form and shape.  The wonder of creation.  The joy of seeing the pleasure in another bear's eyes when he or she receives the finished project.  The sense of accomplishment.  The sense of value at being able to contribute something worthwhile to others while being physically and mentally "down for the count"...

These are only a few of my favorite things ... the things that give me moments of pleasure in the daily grind of life ... the daily grind of dealing with the disconnects, altered abilities of trauma, PTSD, severe stress ... the moments which give me a sense of who I once was, who I am now, who I will be in the future once recovery is completed.  These are the things which make waking up in the morning and striving towards recovery bearable.  These are the things that keep me going....