Five Passions

I have many more than five things about which I am passionate, but in no particular order, I'll share the top five.

My grandbabies.  Understand, right now, I just have the one, but if my love for him is any indication, I will be plenty passionate about all of them.  Being a gramma is unquestionably one of my purposes in life.

Babies in general.  I love babies.  I love babies of all shapes, colors, sizes and species.  In human babies, I'm fascinated by their facial expressions, the ways in which their burgeoning personalities express themselves, and I adore the way babies just love everything around them.  No holds barred.  I love holding them, talking to them, listening to them, watching them sleep (in a nonstalkery way, naturally), just everything!

Books.  I have been having a sizzling love affair with books for well over forty years now.  My mother read to me in utero, and I learned to read for myself well before kindergarten.  I love the way books smell and feel, and how a good one can take me someplace I've never been and make it seem as familiar as my own back yard.  I won a Kindle Fire in January, and despite my personal belief that I would never really be able to love an e-reader like I love books, I have to say that I am won over.  That little tiny thing currently holds the text of or links to over three thousand books, the vast majority of which were free, giving me the opportunity at any given time to read whatever genre or length of book I want, in complete privacy.  I'm astounded by how much I now put off reading actual print books in favor of reading "just one more" of my e-books.

Reading.  You might think this is cheating, listing it separately from books.  No.  I read anything I can get my hands on, from magazines to blogs to book reviews to product descriptions.  I've been known to read a cereal box is nothing else is available.  Granted, having that Kindle Fire makes it much less likely that I will not have a book available to read at any given time, but still, reading encompasses so much more than just books.

Movies.  I love action movies in particular, but I just love movies.  I love watching them, having rousing discussions about their merits, sharing my opinions about them, learning things about myself and my fellow humans through movies.  I am easily entertained, but still hate stupid movies.  I want smart entertainment, not that lowest-common-denominator crap that Hollywood churns out on a fairly regular basis.  I love movies that make me feel something - make me laugh or make me cry, make me wonder or question, make me change my mind.