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It is hard to believe, but here we are in the second week of February, 2023. Often at the close of a year and the beginning of a new one, we find ourselves looking back, evaluating and pondering what has past and wondering what the future holds.

Sometimes I think we are too prone to judge ourselves on a materialistic basis instead of getting down to some of the things which really count in our lives. I found some musings I had jotted down years ago that reminded me that time changes everything. Alone in our house for a few hours during the holidays, I felt a little bogged down. Everything was in an uproar I thought. There were dishes and clothes in need of washing, furniture needing dusting. Disarray ruled in every room and the time to prepare a meal was slowly approaching.

I felt I needed to throw everything down and gather in a few groceries, but I was so preoccupied with feeling sorry for myself that I just sat down, not knowing where to start first.

I gazed unseeing out the living room window for a few seconds. Then a slight movement caught my eye. It was a fuzzy-tailed squirrel dashing around a pine tree, tail flapping wildly. In spite of my mood, I couldn’t help but smile. Even though I had not asked God in those moments, He was surely opening a door to remind me of my blessings. Immediately I realized that dirty dishes, disheveled rooms, and the meal I needed to cook represented some of my greatest blessings and here I was feeling sorry for myself! Important things flooded my mind and I hurried to grab pen and paper to jot them down.

“The squirrel,” I wrote first Then the pen fairly flew.  Just that morning I had been in the bedroom when my infant granddaughter awoke from a night’s rest. My next entry was “Melissa’s smile in the morning upon awaking. I glanced across the room at the chair my husband had pushed from its regular spot to get at just the right angle to watch television and made the next entry. “My husband’s familiar profile, seated in that chair, book in hand or watching television.”

A diaper pin stuck in the arm of a chair reminded me of the scene that warmed my heart the night before. Our daughter, tending her baby, had an expression on her face almost as angelic as the baby. Her husband, watching them, reflected the love he felt for both of them in his eyes.

A toy, forgotten under the desk, inspired my next entry, to which I added, “Our grandson, holding his arms out to me and once in them, holding me tight. I thought of his father’s usual greeting to me as he entered the house with a kiss on the cheek, a gentle pat on the shoulder, and a friendly “Hi, Mom.” Noticing the colorful decorations on the mantel, I thought of my Mother with the hands that worked on them, Mother always was an important part of my life.

I could go on and on with my list. I was glad I had been shown how to be thankful when I was feeling low. My work was still waiting on me and I rose to do it with a surge of energy which had been a bundle of frustrations a few minutes before,

Those long ago jottings helped me remember what is important in our lives.