Lists, books, scarves, happiness.

Yesterday I visited Park Hill Community Bookstore, Denver’s most lovely co-op of used books. It was just the sunny adventure I needed on a day that is usually very hard for me. January 6th marks the passing of my father, and this year marked the ninth year I’ve been without the man who would tape ALIAS for me when I was grounded, make me stun and skin my own fish, and pretend he didn’t know I was the one who let the rabbits out of their cage the night before they were due to be butchered.

The basement of the bookstore had hundreds of treasures, forgotten and dusty, smelling slightly of mildew, with inscriptions of past owners in lingering ink jotted on the inside covers. I spent hours here, dirtying the knees of my jeans on the concrete, reading every title. I found a beautiful copy of Wuthering Heights, as well as The Buccaneers by Edith Wharton (#78 on my list of 101 Things). Purchasing them ($4 total) helped fulfill #69 – Buy 20 new books and #43 – Visit 10 local businesses and purchase something.

Inspired by all the things I was already crossing off my list only six days into the new year, I spent half the night finishing #87 – Knit a scarf and give it to someone.

While I was wrapping up the scarf (that I may or may not have started knitting last summer), I felt a deep sense of gratitude for the way these things led to each other. My list of things led me to stop in a bookstore I normally wouldn’t, on a day I normally spend sad and alone, and brought me two beautiful books that inspired me to go home and finish a project I’d been neglecting a long time. The finished product – the scarf – will be sent to someone I care so much about, and hopefully fill their day with light. The thought of making that person happy makes me happy.

This is the magic of 101 Things.