snowy Friday

As I suspected last night after having driven home through the heart of the snow storm, the kids did not have school today. It was wonderful spending the day with them, even though poor Bill was very sick today from diarrhea. Poor kid. The hard way to make your wrestling weight!

The snow is so beautiful, especially on the evergreens.

I did not get half as much done as I should have, but the Christmas tree is decorated now, along with some of the other decorations. And the stockings have been hung from the mantle with care!  With so much snow, the outside lights are definitely a lost cause this year, but I can and will enjoy those of various neighbors. One guy has an entire herd of illumined deer in his yard a bit up the road. It is lovely driving home at night and seeing his yard. The lights are just awesomely gorgeous out in the snow!

Tomorrow we will go and see Bill wrestle on Onsted, out in the area known as the Irish Hills, all rolling and filled with lakes. Many people own little lake side cottages out there, sort of a dream for a lot of Ann Arbor people to get a lakeside minihome within easy weekend commuting distance of the city. If we get home in time, in the evening, Dan and I will attend a Christmas jazz concert with the lovely-voiced Dianne Reeves in Ann  Arbor. We are supposed to get more snow late tomorrow night.

Sunday I will have to get those bills paid, and those cards out in the mail! Besides going to work, of course.

And once that is done, other than attending a couple more concerts and parties, (and wrapping a few gifts), I can go back to just work and house work, and can relax and enjoy the holidays.

Due to all of the neighborhood snow blowers starting up about 6AM, I only got about four hours of sleep last night.

So I took a nap this afternoon. On the verge of falling asleep, I reminded myself of a great truth.

Love is never wasted. Love is never wrong. Love is a miracle. A great gift freely given from one person to another, an echo of God inside of us. I lost my father, but I truly and honestly loved him. And I will always be happy and proud that I am his daughter. He might not be here anymore, but I will always always love him. I lost my friend, but I truly and honestly loved that person, too. I will always be proud and happy to have been that person's friend. Perhaps things did not work out, though I still have hope they might -- perhaps our friendship was never meant to be, but I will always always love that friend, and will always be filled with joy for the time we had together.

Love is never wasted. Love is never wrong. Love is a miracle, a great gift freely given from one human to another, an echo of God in our hearts, our minds, our souls.

Even though losing someone you love causes so much suffering, having been blessed with the opportunity to know and love that other person is worth any amount of pain.

In the end, the joy outweighs the grief.