casa

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i'm home again.

it's a weird feeling, being back in my little apartment with all my own trappings and comforts of life.

traveling seems to transform my view on the world a bit more each time. showing me new corners, but then reminding me of the comfort of my home when i finally do return.

currently, it's freezing outside. it's the kind of day where i want to just curl up with a mug of soup and a really great book. perhaps even close my eyes and tuck myself under a quilt for a little winter's nap.

florida was warm and tropical. waving palms and crashing ocean waves onto the sandy beach. sand everywhere, wind in my hair.

in that place, my best friend became a wife. family was bonded and friendship for all of life to come were forged amid the dunes and ocean spray.

now the Midwest winds are blowing and the skies are so grey that the blue of summer is almost forgotten.

but my travels brought me back to this.

there is not home. there is a moment away.

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this is my place. 

this is my corner. 

blue skies and sand are for some, and i love it when they bring me in and share their scrap of glory.

but cold winds and winter's swift coming

this is my place now. 

so i will find my comfort in worn novels and steaming mugs of tea. in patchwork quilts and bubbling tureens of soup. in the fall lineup of television shows and the caress of familiar laughter.

this is my corner 

my dwelling.

and i will grow here. shiver here.

love here.

Robin

Spring shows what God can do with a drab and dirty world. ~Virgil A. Kraft

I saw my first robin the other day.

I never knew something as small and simple as a red-breasted bird could give me such a rush of hope.

These recent days have truly been a dreadful tangle of cold winds, heavily falling rain, and dull grey skies...

...it almost seems as if spring is playing some silly little trick with my spring-fevered heart.

And then, I see some little sign that maybe things are almost done being so wet and forlorn.

...the pale green tip of a tulip leaf poking up in my grandmother's flower patch...

...the gentle, haunting coo of a mourning dove to wake me from my sleep each morning...

...the celestial romance in invisible pairing of Neptune and Venus in the early morning darkness...

...the bobbing of a robin's scarlet chest against the twists of brown, listless grass.

Spring is coming.

The air is changing, the world is turning.

The world is thawing.

I trust the robin's song.

Enchant

If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant; if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome. ~Anne Bradstreet

Finally, winter is over.

I think.

I hope.

Personally, I'm a place where winter has officially started to wear down my inspiration.

But it's over.

Finally.

The snow is melted. The air is fresh with the scent of rich, damp soil and the electric aroma of thunderstorms.

Flowers are peaking their heads just a bit uncertainly out of the earth. The grass is turning from faded brown to the whispers of sweet green. The breeze has that elegant perfume of soft wind and cherry blossoms.

Love is everywhere. From couples holding hands and walking along the swollen stream banks to the sweetest whispers of "yes" as diamond rings glisten brand-new on slender fingers.

There is the harsh cover of grief swiftly renewed by the cry of resurrection -- from the harshness of the splintered cross to the flutter of angel's wings.

There is a strange magic in the springtime...some strange combination of love charms and rose-petaled incantations.

There is a reason that I am enchanted with this time of year.

There is an unspoken vow of love...of charm...of whispered secrets in the blossoms and unfurling leaves.

I'm ready to be inspired again.

I'm ready for the spring.

"For behold, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone.

'The flowers have already appeared in the land; The time has arrived for pruning the vines, and the voice of the turtledove has been heard in our land. 'The fig tree has ripened its figs, and the vines in blossom have given forth their fragrance. Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, and come along!" ~Song of Solomon 2:11-1