A Piece of Peace Today

As I sit here, at the kitchen table, the house is quiet. The kids are asleep, these are the last few days before our daughter goes back to school, her last year in high school, and then she will go off into the world. Our son is relishing his last few days at home before going back to college in about two weeks for his second year away in Flagstaff. I look out the window and the sky is a brilliant blue filling out around the various shades of green and browns in the leaves of the trees and bushes. I hear a bird chirping, I hear one of the dogs shift her position, and then fall back into a deeper sleep. It is a beautiful day. I have love and peace in my heart. The refrigerator is full and humming. We have food and electricity. I can hear the sprinklers going off somewhere in the backyard. We have running water. My family is all under one roof for a few more days. We have a home. It somehow feels safe and fleeting all at the same time. It is temporal. So I enjoy it now. Gratitude and Peace.

I had a beautiful walk today with my Dad. He has been ill, and is beginning to come back from a bout with the autoimmune illness that lies mostly dormant in his body. It flares up and causes excruciating pain every few years, as it has been doing these past few weeks. We walked to the top of the street and back home. We walked slowly, and talked, catching up, since we haven’t been alone together for the past two or three weeks. We walk arm in arm together for part of the walk, something he couldn't do a few days ago, it hurt so much to lift his arms. We exchange I love you's. This is precious. These days are precious. Each one. Don't forget to stop and take it all in. It is here now. That is what matters.

We walk past the park, we are almost home. The crows are there, walking around, looking for all the world like men dressed up and pacing with their arms behind their back, their heads to the ground, pondering important, absorbing thoughts. They are our audience. They remain quiet.

This is my piece of peace today. May you find yours as well.