Anyway, I walked with a smile on my face, so grateful for the chance to walk in the beauty that surrounds me. As I get older I know too well just how short life is. How we never know if it will be our last day or a loved one’s last day on this Earth. Given the tragedy in Japan, I do not take lightly the fact that I can walk, breathe fresh air and feel safe. Sometimes I feel like Heidi, but I love “my mountain.” It will not be long until the remaining thin layer of ice on the lake melts, until the water is full of boats and kids and life. While I was thinking of why it felt so different to walk today than say in January on a mild day, it hit me! The birds, the beautiful songbirds, our snow birds who take off to spend their winters in the south were back. Not only were they back but they were singing loudly and it was so beautiful to hear. As we came upon a house on the other side of the lake, a man who was putting up sheet rock inside a house stepped outside. It was near quitting time for him and he was putting some of his tools in the bed of his truck. He saw Sassy first and called to his co-worker in the house, “Hey, a little dog!” Then he saw Zoey and I approach. He was adjusting things in his truck and he said, “Wow, more people walking around here then cars.” I don’t know if he expected this small private lake to be like the Indy 500, but he said it, like it almost annoyed him.
I replied, “Well, it’s a beautiful day!”
“Could be better”, was his flat reply.
I thought for a moment, maybe he was having a bad day. Maybe he was the kind of person who felt everything could be better. Maybe, he had a fight with his wife or lost someone close to him. However, I told him that is was good enough and that it will get better. He muttered something and I thought a moment and as I passed the house I turned and looked over my shoulder in his direction and called out, “I’ll take it!”
The day lilies breaking through the ground.
Who says you can’t bury your head in the snow?