Still on the lookout for one precious moment in each day.  Some days it is more difficult than others.  Some days I am just cranky!  

Hmmm.  

Today I am very grateful for sleep, which I know that I am going to get, sooner or later.  

Also this pillowcase.  

I bought it once upon a time, a very long time ago, at a garage sale on the street where my grandma used to live.  It reminds me of her.  It's a very beloved item around here.  Somehow, the kids all think that the 'bluebird pillowcase' is special.  How many hours did my grandmother spend, trying to teach me to stitch and sew?  Was she always patient?  Ha.  I was not a very neat and tidy seamstress, follow-the-pattern sorta gal.  I wanted to change everything and do it fast.  I can still hear my grandma scolding "If it's worth doing, it's worth doing right!"  Then all the crooked seams would be ripped out of the pink polka dot nightgown.  The threads would flutter to the floor like raindrops, and we would begin again.  

Sheer agony.

But I am smiling now, remembering her small and tidy stitches.  And her patience.  

And her love.

So now today ends on a beautiful note, after all.  Thanks, Grandma.

Which moment will you hang on to today?  

Everything is brand new today.

The world is awakening...

The birds are singing their hallelujah chorus...

Today is a gift of possibilities for you.   What will you do with it? 

Once upon a time, there was a woman.  She stayed home a lot, and the neighbors all thought she did nothing but eat bon bons, because she was quite soft and round.  She didn't have much to say.  Quiet type.  A little on the cranky side.

Once, when she wasn't home, a nosy neighbor peeked in the window, and this is what she found!  So that was her secret!  What a bunch of ugly children!

The nosy neighbor was chased away by an indignant and overprotective father.  Hmph.  He scolded and squawked.  

The parents fed their children a great deal, so they started to grow.  One child sported a mohawk.  He was judged by the neighbors to be spunky and rebellious.  Plus, he cried a lot.  

But soon, those babies grew, as all children do.  They always wanted more to eat.  The poor parents were kept running here and running there, always filling the bottomless pits of their children's appetites.  The parents began to appear a bit old and frazzled.  The mother worried a lot, her feathers grew thin.  The father continued to dive-bomb all birds who glanced anywhere in the direction of his daughters.  He chased all intruders away.  What a guy.  He was no longer considered a sharp-dressed man, now the neighbors rather considered him a grumpy old codger.

I think perhaps his daughters thought the same, though they never said so.   They loved him anyway.  He brought them the best of everything.

Not long after, the Mother found a new home further out in the sticks.  She fancied a bigger place.  More private and luxurious.

The parents worked for days, moving their children.  One after another, the little ones hopped out of the nest, and followed Mom and Dad to the new home. 

Little Mr. Mohawk was far more awkward than his siblings, and he flopped about a great deal.  It took Mom and Dad much cajoling and scolding to get him to move it.

In the end, that family did move away.  

The neighbors had grown rather fond of spying on them, and they miss them very much.  
I do hope they live happily ever after.

Look what I found.  

Safely hidden away from the world of hawks and eagles, tucked into a little thicket, a Cardinal is nesting.  She seems to be alone here, sitting on her eggs.  But she’s not.  

Cardinals mate for life.  And he’s here, all right.  He watches over her every minute.  He’s higher up in the tall trees, singing to her much of the day.  His clear songs ring out to keep her company, as well as to distract any predators from finding his beloved.  He is bright and showy and loud, she is plain and muted and quieter, and they are utterly devoted to each other.  Did you know that male Cardinals will feed their mates, beak to beak, while the eggs are being incubated by the female?  After the little ones hatch, Dad takes a turn on the nest.  They work together.

They give me great hope.  

We are not alone.  Though often hidden, there are self-sacrificing, hard working, devoted ones, doing what is best for their families day after day, year after year.  They don’t make the news.  But these tiny guys are busy living their entire lives, about 15 years, in the same place, with the same mate.  

They are tenacious.  

Devoted.

Inspiring.

And they are everywhere…

More signs of spring!  Hope you enjoyed the sunrise, too.