Puttering by Susan L.

  I did manage to get some things done around the yard simply because they have to be done. The front lawn needed mowing and some of the scrap wood got burned. Having a fire is a sedentary job which merely involves keeping an eye on the flames. The first coat of stain got put on the boardwalk because the rain is supposed to move in later this week and stick around for a few days. It didn't take that long because it wasn't a big area to stain. The second coat will go on later today.
  Each of these tasks was accompanied by a great deal of rest. Maybe it is more about finding balance. On a positive note, it feels like the congestion in my lungs is finally breaking up. I guess the antibiotics, the sunshine and plenty to drink are doing the trick.
  It was nice to sit and listen to the birds as I sipped a cup of coffee or juice. The variety is astounding. The first cat bird of the season meowed his feline song which always brings a smile to my face. He really sounds like a lost kitten.
  As Mrs. Oriole feeds on the sweet apple blossom nectar, she randomly bursts into a song. Not as complicated as her mate's, it's still lovely because it sounds like an uncontainable expression of the joy in simply being alive.
  My neighbour has a not quite two year old little boy. He has blond curls and bright, inquisitive blue eyes. He is constantly on the go exploring his back yard. Whenever he sees me, we have an over the fence chat, albeit with a rather limited vocabulary. "Hi! Hi!" and "Ouch!" for the fire. He reminds me so much of my youngest son when he was that age.
  Like the oriole, a surge of inexpressible joy swept over me as we chatted yesterday. It truly is a blessing to have children and now grandchildren in my life. There was joy, so much that it hurt, in remembering the simpler times when a bug hunt in the back yard was an adventure. Many other good memories of all my children flashed past like a stack of postcards.
  Had I been an Oriole, I'd have sung as loud as I could.
  Thank You, Lord, for inexpressible joy.
  "I (Jesus) have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness." Jn 12:46