Gratitude

The skies are white, the snow falls steadily - and it feels either like Friday night not Wednesday. Or December. Am I disoriented or what!

But I do know that tomorrow is National Stopping-Out Day, the day we take each year to bring all our activities to a halt to gather with friends and family. To say thank you and express our gratitude for the goodness in our lives.

I know that I sometimes get weighted down with all of the troubles in the world. Like shoveling snow off  the driveway, sometimes it is necessary to shovel away what falls on each of us to find signs of hope. Small acts of kindness. Advances in treating diseases. News that employment is up. Genorosity of people who bring groceries to food shelves. Laughter of children. The orange sled I saw coming out of a garage, hugged by an eager boy excited by the possibility of snow.

White skies and clean snow that temporarily transforms the world into a fairy land.