today

I was headed to the kitchen to reheat my coffee and my thoughts moved toward the day ahead. It stretches wide before me: an appointment canceled, the threat of snow (I'll believe that when I see it!), good stuff to read... The word "today" began to form a sentence, and before I knew it the word was followed by lyrics from a John Denver song. "Today, while the blossom still clings to the vine; I'll taste your strawberries, I'll drink your sweet wine; a million tomorrows shall all pass away, ere I forget the joy that is mine today." I hadn't thought of that song in, well, maybe a million yesterdays, but there it was, clear and sweet in my head.

In the dead of winter our vines are bare, but there is plenty that blooms within. Thoughts, feelings, ideas, confidence are all blooming. Good things are happening. Spring is on the way, a wedding is inching closer, my health issues are improving, I'm creating again, and Ken is in better spirits. there is joy in this day.

Once upon a time I made valentines every year. I can't recall exactly when or why I stopped, but I miss that annual activity of thinking about the people I love and pouring that love into my creative crucible. It's time to renew that tradition, and it's a particularly good idea to maintain some creative momentum with my bright and shiny tidy office and work space.

So today I will think about and pray for loved ones. I will channel that love from heart to hands. I'll think about a man who sang songs about the beauty and eternity of love, and hum along as I work. Today I will relish the joy that is mine.