Sure could use a little good news today

It is seven in the morning and coffee was made with a paper towel instead of a coffee filter. Caffeine addiction is the mother of invention, apparently.

One of my routines in the morning is to sit on the couch and watch the first twenty minutes of Good Morning America to catch up on the news. The news started off this morning with the devastation of the ongoing environmental disaster in the Gulf, which breaks my heart. And then immediately a few vignettes about a) the dropping stock market, b) the financial crisis in nations of Europe, and c) the infidelity of a star's husband who says, "I would never hurt her."

I am watching Spong Bob Square Pants this morning. If this keeps up I might have to learn about sports.

blackberry winter and other happy things

Yesterday I had the best moment when my phone rang and online were Ben (son in Indonesia) and Rachel (daughter in NC). Something about hearing both their voices together made me feel like I was at home. It was nostalgic and funny and wonderful and surprising all at once. And maybe the really great thing was hearing my kids laughing and talking without angst or divide - being friends.

And I love folk lore, ancient wisdom, common wisdom. I learned yesterday that we have just gone through blackberry winter. The old women in Kentucky say that spring has three cold spells. The first is redbud winter after the redbuds blossom. The second is dogwood winter, obviously after the dogwoods blossom. This last spell is blackberry winter. You know what that means. Something in me expands with joy when I hear life explained in these kinds of ways. I feel like I've just received a fabulous gift.

Our day today is heavily gray, moistly warm, breathlessly calm and utterly delicious. I am in a graced place.