Greens, Gifts, and Gratefulness

The sounds of gentle rain in the nighttime. A cool morning breeze and peaceful birdsong. Coffee on the still-moist patio, me with my bare legs pulled up under my dress to keep the mosquitoes from them.

The backyard sparkles in shades of impossible green -- pea green, mulberrybush green, four-leaf clover green, gooseberry green -- punctuated with the startling red of a single cardinal on a fencepost, posing like he knows he's the most brilliant thing there is....

The day is a miracle, the sum of extraordinary moments all leading to Now, and I forget that sometimes and am grateful to be reminded. So Heavenly Lord and Earthly Mother, thank you for this day that you've so generously given to me! What a gift it is to be alive.
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