JUST RAMBLING THOUGHTS IN THE SNOW

As the words of an old song from the Broadway Play, Oklahoma, goes "Oh What a Beautiful Morning, Oh, what a beautiful day. I have a beautiful feeling, everything's going my way". Well, I don't know about the "everything's going my way" part but it is a beautiful morning. My eyes could hardly take in the scene at 7:00am when I looked out to snow heavily coming from the sky and covering the ground that just last night had been melting away. The jogging track that is just yards from my apartment and had been black when I went to bed was now totally white with no human or dog tracks in evidence. I think this new blanket of white in Hendersonville is a complete surprise to all of us. Nita reported that Ray was on his way to the dentist and said that it was very slick on the road. Tracey reported that she had made it to her work and was lacking quite a few teachers and her extra room that she opens when the schools are closed was full with a waiting list. She will need a vacation when all of this "winter wonderland" is over. As I said my prayers last night I thanked the Lord that I had this lovely, warm, apartment in which to live and a refrigerator and pantry full of food and there was nothing I needed nor anyplace that I had to go and I was privileged to stay in and be comfortable with the company of Houston. He loves the snow and when we walked yesterday he just had to walk through the deepest piles of snow he could find until his body became very cold and he just practically galloped back to the door to come in. I took him straight to the bathtub to a warm bath and he stood so still and enjoyed the bath to its fullest. After a bath and a treat he got into the chair beside me and wiggled under my warm throw and slept for two hours as I read my book and napped. See how blessed I am these days? I never cease to thank God for all that He has done for me and continues to do for me every day.

It seems as though snow causes everything to change - schools are closed, meetings are cancelled, no shoppers in Target yesterday except for Nita, a couple of women and myself. No problem finding a parking place anywhere that we went. I had to cancel an eye doctor's appointment and a luncheon this week. Hopefully, we will be able to celebrate Kim's birthday on Saturday with a brunch at Mimi's Cafe here in Hendersonville. Looking at TV and seeing the hardships that the snow and ice storms are causing in New York, Boston and all around the northeast as well as the west it makes you think that maybe God would like for all of us to stop or slow down for a while and reflect on His handy work and our lives. Are we all living too fast? Are we spending too much time on the unimportant and neglecting the really important things in life? I know that when I was a young wife and mother trying to juggle all of the items in my schedule I missed a lot of life that I should have enjoyed. Thinking back on my time in that small house bursting at the seams with four girls, my husband, friends, family, etc there just never was enough time. Time is one thing that does fly by and the next thing you know you are at Act 3 of your life (at least I am) and I, for one, am trying to take advantage of my time in a good way. As the saying goes "you can't go home again" and I know that the past is the past and can't be changed but I can embrace every day as a new page to be written carefully, intelligently, and with lots of humor and joy. It just takes a new mindset to "let go and let God" and that comes with the knowledge that God is good - all the time.

Enjoy the snow. Enjoy the leisure time that you may have during this time. Read a good book. Make a pot of chili or soup. Raise the blinds to the ceiling and let the beautiful scenery permeate your entire atmosphere. It won't be long before you will be saying "sure is hot today, must be 100 degrees in the shade".