Thursday, March 31, 2011

Blessings in the Snow

Will spring every really arrive?  Yes, it has been spring "on the calendar" for several days now but mother nature isn't cooperating.  It is snowing again this morning and the ground is covered in a blanket of white. 

My "first instinct" as I sit here is to be bummed about this.  I have a respiratory infection of some sort that is making me pretty miserable, complete with an ear ache, the likes of which I haven't felt since I was ten years old. 

However, while I really do think of myself as a realist, I also believe in the "glass is half full" philisophy...and I refuse to focus on the negative.  There are abundant blessings in this winter day. 

Today's Five Daily Blessings:

1. I have the medicine I need to help me feel better.   
2. I am able to stay home from work and not share my germs with my co-workers.  I have the luxury of taking the time that I need to try to rest and get better.  How blessed am I to have a job with paid sick days? There was a time when I had a job without this benefit.  You either went to work sick or lost a day's pay.  And, since I worked in the restaurant business...and nobody wants a sick waitress...I would have to lose a day's pay.
3. The view outside my window is truly amazing.  Say what you will about this miserable winter we have had -- the snow makes a pretty picture.
4. The birds at the bird feeder.  Sparrows, Cardinals, Blue Jays, and a lone Red Bellied Woodpecker, which is an amazing sight.
5. Peace.  The calm and quiet that comes with a snowy day in the middle of nowhere.  The kind of peace you can't get if you live in town.  Sometimes, "life is hard" here in the woods (if that sounds dramatic, bear with me...it's true!) but peaceful days like this make living here so worthwhile. 

Wherever you are, whatever you're doing today...I hope you find your "five daily blessings" -- and more!