Winter is drawing to a close. In a little more than two weeks, spring will make its official entry. There’s something about the arrival of March that always makes me run out of patience with the cold. I feel a strange mix inside. I suppose you could say I’m cranky with a dusting of hope.

Spring is teasing us and still, I look at my list of winter “to-dos” and heave a sigh. I was to have organized my upstairs after I’d put away Christmas stuff, sort through and re-organize my kitchen cabinets, update my addresses and contact info, sort and dispose of excess “fluff & stuff” and reward myself by getting some scrapbooking done.

I haven’t made much headway in any of these areas. Now, tax preparation looms. I wish I could feel as though I’ve finished at least some of these categories so that I can stand back, rest my hands on my hips, heave a satisfactory sigh and say, “There now!”

(I just sighed, but it was the wrong kind.)

Now, I have to remind myself that I’ve recently turned in a huge edit for the first book in the “Morgan’s Landing” series and I spend four days a week playing/feeding/changing/snuggling/crafting with Lil’ Snookie and Fruity Pebbles. A frantic portion of this is spent as referee between Fruity Pebbles and Phoebe June. The former considers the latter the most marvelous creature ever to behold and makes every effort to share an embrace. (Not that Phoebe June doesn’t share the opinion as to her marvelousness – she just doesn’t want it embraced.) Somewhere in between the cracks, I manage to cook all our meals from scratch, prepare and coach my weekly Trim Healthy group, organize and help host all our church’s dinners, do the shopping, laundry, cleaning and get a weight-lifting workout in most days.

You know something? I started out feeling like winter had passed and I’d been a failure in even scratching the surface, but now, as I make my true confessions to you, I’m starting to feel pretty good about the whole thing! These last months weren’t perfect, and I doubt the ones ahead will be perfect – but I’ll do what I can with God’s help.

I look around my chaotic office/library/craft room and see that much has been done and much is left to do. I make myself a promise. I won’t strive for perfection, but I will tell myself the same thing I whisper as I climb on those machines at the gym – “I can do better.” Progress, though it be made in baby steps, is far less daunting than perfection.

Golly, how I wish I had a higher gear! Alas, I have only one gear and I’m already running in it.

There are times when I look around and ask myself if any of it matters and for a fleeting moment I hanker for a dumpster.

Paper is my nemesis. But…I am a writer. Ummm…

Then, I remember this. There are two dates on every gravestone and though they may be forgotten, the dash between them is what counts. People will remember you for your dash!

We do leave a legacy in many ways – in the hearts and minds of our children, in what we build in our communities and in the lives of others, and in the stories that connect us to our heritage.

This house holds a lot of heritage.

Once while sorting my office piles, I found a slip of paper upon which I’d written a quote attributed to Joseph Garlington. I hope it puts things into perspective for you as it does for me.

I took this photo several years ago as I drove through the countryside on my way to meet Phoebe June. I pulled over to take photos of a sky such as I’d never seen before.

Under a wide-open Heaven, life is given to me to live each day in this strange place called Earth and I’m determined to thrive down here. I may not be able to make it perfect, but bit by bit, I can make it better, even if it’s something as simple as encouraging a friend or cleaning out files. 

The heavens are open and as we step out of winter and the sunshine and warmth break through, there will be days full of surprises and days filled with mundane things.  I pray the mundane things bring you stability and peace and that all your surprises are good ones.  If last year was a “dud”, don’t lose heart.  Take God’s hand and move forward into new territory and happier days.

You may be grieving the events of these past months.  Take your time and heal.  You may spend a part or all of the year in a waiting mode.  (I hear ‘ya as I await the book release and the progress reports on its screenplay.)  You may go on happily as you have been or you may step into a new adventure as God opens a door and you receive the answer to a prayer that you feel like you’ve spent a lifetime lifting up before the Lord!   

Leave a comment! Are things better – even just a little bit – in your earthly experience? I’d love to hear what you’ve done this winter (I’ll even listen to your fails) and what you plan spring!