I met a friend for brunch yesterday, which was delightful. We laughed and poked fun at ourselves and each other. We are both too easily sucked into the vortex of winter’s gloom so we goaded each other out into a cold snowy Saturday morning for the only thing bound to get our butts off the couch….WAFFLES! Yes, those crunchy, sweet, golden delectable planks of goodness with deep wells full of butter and syrup…..ahhhhhh! Life is better with waffles…and coffee…and lots of laughter. And once our tummies were full, we could each go out into the world and get done what needed doing.

I headed back to the apartment to scan some more photos onto my external hard drive. I finished the second of three boxes of pictures, documents, cards, and other assorted flotsam and jetsam. Many of yesterday’s pics were of my mom, my brother, and me when we were little. With it being her Angelversary, my heart was pretty tender and I probably missed her more yesterday than I have any other year. I called my brother and he was doing well and didn’t seem to remember the significance of the day so I didn’t bring it up. It was just nice to hear his voice and catch up with what’s new in his life. He and his roommate just moved to a ground level apartment this week so now he doesn’t have to carry his laundry up and down three flights of outside stairs that sometimes get icy. One less thing to worry about.

At this time of year, when things are dark and gray, cold and dismal…it’s sometimes difficult to find the motivation to get up and go to do the mundane, every day things. Thinking of our heart’s desire seems so far fetched and beyond our capabilities in the prison of January. So this is the time when we work the hardest to see through the fog of winter to the promise of Spring. My joyful anticipation is found in a road atlas. Circling places I want to see, contemplating routes to get there, and anticipating locations where a speaking engagement might be well received is a not-so-idle pastime for me in the winter months. I keep a “Bucket List”. It’s a mighty big bucket! As I scan the photos, my mind wanders to the open road and it makes the time go faster. Well…that, and the complete set of West Wing DVD’s. Those help, too.

❤

“May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed.”

Psalm 20:4