Flurries

I am up and dressed early today--a good sign. Some mornings present more demons than others do. But today is cold and gray. Through the window by my computer I can watch white particles of snow float to the ground. It will not accumulate today, a pity. But the black limbs of a naked tree and the stark gray-white sky make the perfect backdrop for the precious few flakes. Others may dread days like this, but I am energized.

Washing Clothes

I love doing laundry. Years ago, my family and I were visiting the godparents to our third child. They lived in California where we had lived for a second a couple of years previous to the trip. I made some comment about it being easier to be the visitors leaving since we had the goal of driving cross country while Ed and Virginia would have the empty house (possibly a blessing now that I think of it). Virginia answered that she would do laundry, the sheets and whatever else was dirty in the house. She was the mother of seven grown children, none at home or even in the same town but all at least occasional visitors. So I listened as she wisely explained how fulfilling laundry could be, that it was not really hard work but there was so much to show for the effort. She was right, of course. And I have often thought of her as I folded towels or hung shirts on hangers. I guess this all ties in to the new year. No wonder we say things like a "clean" break or a "fresh" start. A wise woman indeed.