A rose trying its best to bloom on a cold January morning.

I started out this morning with the full intention of writing about croissants, pain au chocolat, or french onion soup… some of the better things in life.  Instead, I woke up with a laundry list of minor grievances: sore throat, aching back, I missed a chance to get dressed up and go out with friends last night,  and I didn’t make it to the park with Mr. B. this morning.  I was thinking about all the places I thought I was supposed to be.  Then walking my regular route with Mr. B, I realized I am already HERE, just where I should be.

Last night, I wasn’t at the party.  I was at home warm and snug in my bedroom watching an old episode of Project Runway while my husband looked on and we made small talk about the outfits –  good, bad, and ugly.  I was home when my younger son returned from an overnight trip.  Instead of texting to find out where he was and how it went, I was home to greet him, fix him a bite of food, and hear about the basketball game (they lost.)

This morning, I wasn’t at the park walking my dog. Instead, I was walking along one of the most gracious and lovely avenues in Paris.  I had three conversations (in French) with strangers.  They were curious about my dog and his fluorescent jacket.  Three lovely opportunities to connect that I might have missed if I was walking the park trails in solitude.   And to top it off, I saw several bushes striving to bloom on this cold and frosty morning, just like me.

So – I learned my lesson – I am not always were I think I should be – but I am somewhere – HERE, and that matters, too.  It has been too easy for me to lose track of that thought.  Too, too often, I can get caught up in “supposed to” and forget about the present. Which of course, is a present.  It isn’t always wrapped up pretty with a bow, and it isn’t always easy, but it’s what I’ve got.
(2015  has set me on an introspective roll – perhaps I will return to the regularly programmed croissants, etc next time xoxo)