A Fellow Traveller

At our school, those celebrating birthdays are expected to bring in a treat to share with all the staff. As I baked a loaf of banana bread and added chocolate chips, I was simply trying to use up soft bananas. In thinking about what to make next for my birthday, I realized that if I brought the bread in to school, I would need to give it a special presentation. Nothing seemed quite right for it until I found a china dish from my good set of dishes, the ones I keep waiting for special occasions to use. What am I waiting for anyways? Since I'm turning 50 this year, I'm thinking in global terms about what I've accomplished in life so far and what lessons I've learned during the past decades. If I keep waiting until things are just right, before you know it, I'll be an old lady with lots of regrets. I learned years ago that if I waited until the house was perfect to invite someone in for coffee, it would never happen. So why do I hesitate to use my china dishes? I...

Robin in the snow, what a shivering fellow. Robin in the snow, mind your boots of yellow. Running through the garden on your nimble feet, Hoping for some dinner with your long, strong beak. Robin in the snow, you DO mind the weather. Snowfall always makes you say, "Wishing that this white stuff would go away." Robin on a snowy day." My reworking of "Robin in the Rain" comes with a spring snowfall that seems out of place for April. As I walked by a man scrapping ice off his car, I said, "Looks like winter is back."His reply of, " I sure hope not!" was backed with the knowledge that this snow will not last long. It truly is April, the beginning of spring. There is hope in the knowledge that hard times will not last forever, especially when backed by the truth of seasonal change. Spring always comes after winter and for that I am thankful. There WILL be better days ahead and for that I am hopeful.

When my daughter woke me up with, "Did you already do the papers?", it was irrelevant whether my alarm had ever been set or whether I had sleepily turned it off. What mattered was that the time was one hour later than usual and we still had customers waiting for morning papers. The neighbourhood was so much noisier and fumes from the traffic made breathing difficult. Even the birds' songs seemed to be louder and noisier. Lights were glowing from television sets and every house had signs of life. My quiet morning walk had become a bustling, frenetic journey to simply accomplish a job. Could one hour make that much difference? How aware am I of other delays as they occur? Do I ever see them as blessings in disguise? Often I am frustrated by delays, when I should simply be thankful instead. When my car is narrowly missed by another vehicle by only seconds, I realize what life without that delay might have looked like. I might not be writing these thoughts right now....

The last few days have been bright and sunny, yet the cold penetrates and quickly chills to the bone. From the inside, the sun gives an illusion of warmth even though the thermometer is well below zero. There is a warming effect from the sun, as it streams in the window and heats up the room inside. In the classroom, children find it hard to put on all their snow gear, yet my experience outside before school tells me that it is necessary. It is the strong wind on top of the cold that makes the "wind chill" such a factor. If only a sunny day was also a pleasant one as well. At least the sun gives hope that better days are coming. I find that people can also be deceptive, showing superficial warmth and yet missing the character traits that warm relationships and lubricate friendships. Words are the evidence of what's inside, yet sometimes body language and actions override the words spoken. I want to take people at face value, taking their words as truth and yet experien...

With the howling wind and driving rain, delivering papers was not something I looked forward to doing. My umbrella started to be ripped apart by the fourth house and yet the job still needed to be completed. I persisted in keeping the papers close to my chest and the bits of umbrella around my face but it was impossible to stay dry. More work came from trying to hold on to an ineffective umbrella and to keep myself from being injured. When I got back and realized my daughter was sick and would probably not be going to school, I decided to tackle her part of the job as well. By now I was soaking wet anyways, so I changed my approach and set out without an umbrella but with the papers wrapped in plastic. The wind was still roaring but it didn't seem quite as bad. I didn't realize how cold and wet I really was until the job was done but a sense of satisfaction was there that could only come from following through on something difficult. While walking, I composed a verse to ad...

There is snow and then there is fluffy snow. Today everything is becoming frosted in freshness as large flakes waft down steadily. With little wind blowing, the flakes are settling on top of everything, sticking evenly and outlining what is beneath. No longer is the ice, sand and salt visible, as beauty is everywhere. I chose this morning to enjoy the beauty. I know the slippery ice is still there as well as all the dirt and grime from yesterday. Yet I would be missing out on fresh joy if I focused instead on the ice. I'm thinking too of the loses in life that are out of my control to change. It's one thing to feel sad and mourn that loss but it's my choice whether to focus on it totally or look for fresh beauty. Today I want to start a "Beautiful" list, topped by today's snowfall and the names of special people in my life. After that, only time will tell what I will add as I intentionally look for beauty all around me.

Walking has been difficult this past week with a layer of ice under everything. I thought the worst was the first morning after the warm weather and quick freeze made everything slick. Now that I have more experience, I'm realizing that was only the beginning. When I could see the ice, I could tread carefully, taking small measured steps. The problem comes when that ice is hidden. Today there is lots of snow everywhere. The ice is visible where the ploughs and shovels have cleared the snow away, but it is mostly a hazard when you are not thinking about it. The worst situation by far was the morning that a light dusting of snow covered the ice layer. Although everything sparkled in the streetlight and looked peaceful, that was the day I actually fell twice. Ice was everywhere, not allowing me to use my familiar stride to just get the job done. Life seems to be like that as well, with icy patches that wait to trip us up. When I am aware of difficult situations, I tread more ca...