Recycling is good for the environment, right?

So, here you go, recycled from February of 2008, when I was new to blogging and on MYSPace.

Plus, it reflects the mood I've been in this week. Maybe it was because I was missing my Dad on Father's Day, or maybe because the cardinals are singing more now than ever and boldly coming on my back deck.

Winter to Spring
Current mood: grateful

Ground Hog Day is tomorrow. Right now there's the pitter-patter of sleet and freezing rain outside my (dark) window. Is Spring really not so far off? It's hard to believe sometimes.

I saw a cardinal the other day. Unremarkable, I know. But there's a story. I'm much more aware of cardinals these days.

After my mother died, I started seeing a cardinal in my backyard. While that might not seem unusual, I've been feeding the backyard birds here for 14 years and the cardinals did not come to my yard. My neighbor's yards, yes, just not mine.

Anyway, I took comfort in the sight of those cardinals and thought often of how my mother was with me in spirit, although I missed her physical presence. Why a cardinal? Well, my mother loved cardinals and I just associated this cardinal with her. Hey, it's not something I need to analyze deeply, I'll take comfort wherever I can get it.

When my father died last year and I started being visited by a pair of cardinals - a male and female and they often perched in a backyard tree and sang to me while I was on the deck and I was at peace. Suddenly, I saw cardinals in places I never did. Cardinals showed up in the brush by the parking lot when I got to work, they flitted past me when I went for a hike. I found a cardinal garden flag among the supplies in my Dad's garage. I took it. It hangs by my front door. My mother-in-law gave me a cardinal Christmas ornament.

Cardinals were everywhere, and usually turn up on just those days that I'm feeling sorry for myself. God is good! All the time!

Is it the spirit or presence of my parents? I don't now, but does it matter? They make me smile.

Time to wake the children.

Currently listening : December, Piano Solos: 20th Anniversary Edition By George Winston