If only...

Winter is around the corner - to use an expression that confused me when I was three or four. I remember running down the street to the corner and peering around it, puzzled to discover that winter wasn't there any more than it was on my street!

(But I digress!)

I have been silently bemoaning the restrictions that winter puts on my life, when roads and sidewalks turn icy. With my "tradition" of slipping on ice ... and sometimes injuring myself (a cracked tail-bone, a fractured wrist)... I have been dreading it - perhaps a little too much.

So today when I started (again) to reflect on the nearness of winter - an inner voice gently reprimanded me: But you can walk outside today - so go do it! How many nice days have slipped by without your taking that long walk you always wish you could take... when you can't?

Yes, maybe I need to re-adjust my focus and just enjoy TODAY!

A lot can change if we re-adjust our focus. I remember talking to a neighbor whose husband was on the verge of retirement.

That will be nice for you both, I commented. You'll be able to do things together.

I don't know, she replied. I'm used to being home alone all day. I think I'm going to have a hard time adjusting.

A few months later, I ran into her again.

So how is your husband's retirement going? I asked. Have you adjusted to having him home all the time?

Oh yes, I'm so glad he's home. He had a heart attack around the time he retired. I thought I was going to lose him... I'm SO GLAD to have him around the house...

His heart attack brought about a change of perspective...

I too need to shift my perspective: Instead of bemoaning the fact that winter is indeed around the corner, I need to focus on appreciating every nice day I have - and make sure that I take a long walk every day I can!