For five days, they say,
Highs will be above freezing.
Snow will melt, then freeze at night,
And in the dark morning, black ice will be teasing.
(Winter’s almost two-thirds gone,
If you’re meteorological,
Or only one-third gone,
If you’re astronomical.
It all depends on your perspective.)
We crossed a bridge over the river.
Partly frozen, layers of ice and snow.
The paralyzed water, waiting for sunlight
To let the torrents flow.
We put our Christmas decorations away.
It’s good to work in the chilly sun.
You come awake — each breath you take
Brings life and health, and a little wheezing.
I fill the bird feeders full of seeds –
The birds have needs.
From bare branches they fly and feed;
Chipmunks and squirrels get the fallen seed.
I go for a walk in the sunny afternoon.
I see a single robin, NOT singing a tune.
For many months I have not seen them,
Waiting for the sun to free them.
Twelve inches of snow from two weeks ago
Have mostly melted, but the wind is cold.
I pull up my hood, and the sun feels good.
It’s actually pleasant, amazingly.
Geese have left their droppings
On sidewalk and street,
And left their footprints in the snow.
Rabbits and deer make their tracks complete.
People are out, walking in the sun,
Or being walked by their dogs.
I come inside, where it’s pleasantly warm,
And sit by the fire of fake logs.
clarakatalin 
Let the little children …
Some people have a lot more appreciation of children than I do. Part of that may be my upbringing, or the feeling that, though children can be delightful, they create a lot of work. Put it down to my laziness, perhaps, which is one of my many faults. Also, I was not raised with a strong work ethic, as many are fortunate to have been. Or even, perhaps, because I don’t know/have the best childrearing skills, I find it difficult at times.
Fast forward to my current life. Having had the blessing of two children in California, one who is in her late twenties and the other in his early thirties, my husband and I moved to Ohio three years ago to be near them and our grandchildren. Being in my late sixties, I envisioned a life of relative ease, compared to when I was a full time mom/homemaker, who volunteered and did some part time paid work.
It has turned out that I work a lot harder than some other periods of my life. I’m growing vegetables in our backyard. I grow a lot of these from seed, in our basement, and when I grow too many, I pot them up and give them away. I do a lot of the other garden work, except lawn mowing, and large shrub and tree trimming. Of course, there’s house cleaning and laundry, and washing dishes by hand, since our dishwasher is not working correctly. I do some cooking, but not every day, and we are fortunate to be able to eat out sometimes. We also have two cats, one of which requires medicine twice a day. Church and volunteering takes up some time, about 10-12 hours per week. There are other day to day tasks, and somewhat frequent doctor appointments, averaging once or twice a week.
The other added task — or opportunity, or blessing, to put it positively — is helping watch our three current grandchildren. I rarely do this alone, but usually with my husband or with the other grandparents. Even with their help, I find it very tiring at times, but also rewarding.
So, a few days ago, while anticipating the fun and the work, I was partly excited and partly grumbly. Part of me wanted a nice quiet, peaceful day. I kept praying for a better attitude, and the Lord answered me by putting a Scripture verse in my head: “but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs.”” (Matthew 19:14). I knew then that I could count on God’s help, and that He was, and is, changing my attitude for the better.
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Commentary, Personal story
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