Icy apples on this Thanksgiving day

Finders Keepers

 It is said to find any of the following is good luck. A four leaf clover, a penny, face side up of course, a horseshoe, a button, anything purple, love. Good luck, a concept worth thinking about. I don't know, really, how I feel about the idea.

 Last week my Father was supposed to have surgery. I traveled 250 miles to be there. I got a hotel room with my sister, and we visited the night before. We stayed in a casino hotel. We spent the night eating, visiting, gambling, seeing family. We went to bed late, and couldn't sleep. We were both worried about our Dad.

 The next morning we checked out of our hotel room at 5:30 am. We brought our luggage to our cars, and the parking lot was glare ice. There had been an ice storm that night, leaving the roads dangerous. A man stopped us on our way outside, and told us not to leave. We were thinking only of our Father, and said to each other that we could make it. After slipping to our cars, we decided to go back inside and have breakfast. We decided to wait until they sanded and salted the roads. We called our Dad. He had other family with him, and told us to be safe. We knew, though, that he was disappointed.

 My sister and I waited for the restaurant to open, in the hotel. We were stopped by several people who all told us of the crashes they witnessed on the way to work. These people were strangers, in a hotel, and they volunteered the information without being asked.

 After breakfast, we once again decided to leave to go to our Father. We were again stopped by a security guard, who told us to wait, that is was too dangerous. We were determined. The sun was coming up, and we needed to be with our Dad today. That was why we were here! We walked to our cars, and noted that the parking lot had been salted, and our feet stayed under us. A sand truck drove by as we crossed to our cars. The truck driver, spotting us, turned his truck around and rolled down his window. He asked us where we were going, and we told him. He pointed his finger at us, and told us to go back inside. The roads were very slippery, and we needed to wait. We listened.

 We were tired, and frustrated, and had given up our room. We sat by the pool, at a table, and talked. Every so often a guard would pass, and we would ask if the roads were clear enough to drive yet. They always said to wait.

 We waited, and waited, and waited. My sisters cell phone rang, and it was my Dad's friend Joyce. She said that the surgery had been cancelled. My Dad had a spider bite and it was infected. He would have to be on antibiotics for 10 days before they could operate. There would be no need for us to go to the hospital today. Dad was going back home.

 The two of us, sat by the pool for three more hours, waiting for the roads to be safe. From time to time, we would ask about them, and heard horror stories of semi trucks jackknifed, and people in the ditch.

Were we lucky? Did we have Angels watching over us? Was it God?  I don't know, but I am thankful, and my beliefs are a little stronger.

My soul found solitude in the sunrise

Winter quiet

Life is ....honest....

The North Wind

I opened my heart, and the north wind blew in, chilling my desires.

Comfort

To be still, able to settle in, this is my idea of comfort. Sometimes it seems that life is too fast. We work, and work, and for what? Our future perhaps? An ethic that was instilled in us as young people?

When we are born, we are given the ingredients for happiness. We smile, even before we can comprehend the concept of happiness. This is basic, I know, but an idea that is fresh. We know how to be happy, how to be comfortable, but still we seek. Why?

To live in the past, is to regret. To live in the future is to dread, or to fantasize. The only time we really have is the present time. Take a deep breath, and just feel the joy of this moment. Maybe we are tired, or hungry, or have a stuffy nose. Perhaps, instead of reading this blog, or writing it for that matter, we should be doing something more productive, like relaxing, or playing with the dog, or cuddling with a loved one. I, for one, find this an act of creativity. I am leaving something behind, and settling in. In composing this little paragraph, I am contented.

Okay, I won't be completely happy unless I include a photograph in this little post....Let me see if there is one that improves this moment.

I will leave you with this thought. Look around, with a smile on your face. It will change everything.

Fancy footwork