In the moment

I don't like the harshness of winter. Each year I wait expectantly for spring and the new life it brings.

This winter, though, I am not wishing my life away. I am not impatiently waiting for spring or summer or a sunnier day. I am happy it is today. I am not restless for the lilacs and hydrangeas to awaken in my yard. I don't mind the cold or slippery roads. I can see the beauty of barren tree branches against the bright blue sky. Life is fine at this very moment. Today is good.

I sit opposite two vulnerable people and know they are safe. One is nearer the end of his life, the other just crossing the threshold of adulthood. One faces an uncertain future as his body slowly fails him. The other faces an unknown future as he nears the transition from the entitlements of school to a world with few supports. But that is tomorrow. 

Today the sun shines warmly through the window on us. We are together. Today are traveling a road we know well with stories of long ago. There are photos of happy times for one, and familiar videos for the other. We talk of those we miss; those we hope to see again. We listen to familiar music and say familiar words. In the background I hear the happy sound of scripted tales. The worries of tomorrow will wait.

These are moments of contentment. I freeze them in my mind, collecting them like a series of snapshots, to warm a future winter day.


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