What's Getting Me Through

I spent the morning busy in my woman cave. I'm combing through old blog posts to put together a little project for my granddaughter of things I wrote about her over the past twelve years. It was a pleasant trip down memory lane remembering those days—and a little melancholy at the same time. Children grow so fast.

Later, I worked on a schedule and project plan (shades of my corporate days—I love a well-documented plan!) for a couple of women's writing competitions I'm coordinating next year. There are tons of details to sort out and I always feel better when I have everything documented.

It was another beautiful sunny day, so after lunch, Gerry suggested we take the dogs for a walk. He didn't have to work hard to convince me, especially since there was a promise of coffee along the way.

The path we walked wasn't busy, but there were two instances when I picked up the pocket dog either because other dogs weren't restrained or they were allowed to get a little too close for comfort. It's bad enough when this happens with eight-pound Maya, but with a tiny three-pound dog? No way is this a good idea. (This is one of the reasons we have never taken our dogs to an off-leash dog park.)

At one point I looked up at the blue sky and thought to myself: "This is what's getting me through these days." 

Sunshine. Blue sky. Moderate temperature. These are such gifts in December. I know there's weather coming (Canadian winter weather), but to be able to go outside in relative comfort now seems a bonus. A bonus I sorely need this year.

But I realized, as I looked up and snapped this photo with my phone, that even if winter had already settled in and it was too cold to go outside, there would be other comforts helping me through these dark days not to mention a Comforter.

I can't control what comes (though I'd sorely like to sometimes) and the wisest course is to learn to bend with whatever comes and trust that I'm not walking alone through it. It's hard sometimes; I imagine it's that way for all of us. Realizations like this one help me see through the figurative fog of these days and lift some of the weight that, at times, seems more than I can carry.

(I posted my Friday's Fave Five list over on my other blog this morning.)