What Is To Come

When I awoke this morning, the sky was again gray. A dim light behind the clouds assured me Helios, crowned by the shining aureole of the sun, was on course. As the morning progressed, the sky grew darker, denser and threatening. After being up a few hours, I opted to return to bed with a cup of coffee, muffin and a good book. Mocha was kind enough to share my bed with me. Her residual body heat warmed me as I snuggled under the thick comforter.

The luxury of time to read, write and contemplate has been mine since moving to Tennessee. I've squandered this gift at times, but today am immersed in a timely and important book that would serve us all well to read:

Authors Susan Kuner, Carol Matzkin Orsborn, Linda Quigley and Karen Leigh Stroup dare to propose we shift our perception of life-threatening and chronic illness from a battle to a doorway through which we can walk into a life lived fully. All four women are initiates of breast cancer. Their intimate and poignant stories translate well to the experiences, questions and struggles with any disease that enters our lives uninvited.

As I gaze out the window in my sitting room, goldfinches, cardinals, chickadees, tufted titmice, nuthatches and woodpeckers are feeding feverishly. I've grown to trust their prognostication skills over meteorologists. Their rush to fuel up tells me snow is coming, and soon.

Wrap yourself in warmth and embrace the gift of today.