The Ramblings of a Redhead

Shadows dance in the green grass reveling in its soft promise of a warm spring day. I feel the cool blades under my feet and between my toes. The cool soil where millions of roots take hold and plants climb upwards towards the glorious sunshine. I sit in the stillness. Yet...it isn't still. I listen to the wind rustling the leaves of the trees I am surrounded by.  I hear my friend the bumblebee as he buzzes by stopping to say a quick hello before flying off on his way to find more flowers. The birds sing back and forth to each other every song unique and beautifully sung. A cardinal couple has joined my little party. I watch as they flit from branch to branch chittering as they gather food to take back to their little ones.  I can smell the herbs and flowers that are growing in the garden nearby. I close my eyes and allow the smell to transport me away, but I stop realizing I dont need to go anywhere to find this amazing enchanted forest. ...

The sound of birds singing as they fly from the bird feeder to the trees and back again, the smell of coffee and homemade biscuits and gravy permeate the whole house. That first sip of coffee and the warmth it brings. The world slowly begins to awaken, a new day is dawning, but for now stillness, peace, reflection, quiet, existence. Take a breath, feel that? Life. A new day. Adventures waiting to be had. Dreams waiting to be fulfilled. People waiting to be loved and heard. Go and live. Go and love. Today is your day.

Mother. Mom. Mamacita. A single word that brings with it so many emotions. What comes to mind when I hear that word is more than I think I am capable of conveying, but nonetheless, I will try. Snow gently falls blanketing the world with a soft white cover. A cold north wind whips through the bare trees. I sit curled up with a hot cup of coffee as memories swirl inside my mind. Memories of years long past all the way to those not so long ago. Perhaps it is something in the twinkling snow that makes me feel so much nostalgia, or maybe it is simply this single peaceful moment where I can reflect on how truly blessed I am to have so much more than I could have ever asked for or deserve. I can see these memories in my mind as if they happened only yesterday. I close my eyes, and I am home. The sound of my mom gently calling my name to rouse me from the cavern of sleep. She would come in and sit on the edge of my bed and we would talk. We can always talk about anything and nothing ...

The steam from my coffee swirls and dances upward until it finally fades away. Such a brief instant, and yet it was so magical in the way it created intricate patterns unlike any that had come before it or that will come after it.  Inspiration, hope, determination, creativity, love, peace, joy, sorrow...  How can something so simple invoke so much by just being what it was created to be?  Think of how much more so WE do that, and most likely we do it without even realizing we are.  Go and be unashamedly you.  Be the person you were created to be because only YOU can be you, and God placed you in this space and in this time for a purpose so much bigger than you can imagine.  Go and be and inspire - bring hope, be creative, love fully, laugh heartily, bring joy, take time to grieve... You never know who you may inspire by simply being your amazing incredible self.

I am sitting in the silence of my kitchen. Contemplating the day. What meals will I cook? What projects should I tackle? My gaze wonders to the trees outside the window. They are becoming greener with each passing day, blooming with the promise of new life.  The bittersweet taste of coffee hits my tongue, and I am pulled from the moment of revelry, but at the same time, I realize how blessed I really am.  I have all my senses to fully experience the world around me - I have my health, I am able to safely stay in my comfortable home, I woke up this morning I am able to enjoy a hot cup of coffee, my muscles are sore from a day of working outside yesterday.  Here's to family and friends.  May we find hope in each day. We are alive; the world is still filled with magic and wonder all around us.  Praises of thankfulness this Sunday.