BE GLAD

April 2, Kansas City; wherever I go, even other countries, when the weather does something inappropriate it’s common to hear, “If you don’t like the weather now, wait a few hours; it will change.” All along, people think their home town or their region is unique in that respect. Why is it we have Indian Summer in late November and how come it’s snowing when dandelions are already blooming? Even when the weather forecast is out front and accurate, the weather here is always less predictable than any place else. Well, I don’t know and I really don’t care. My mother used to say, “This is the day the Lord gave us. Be glad and do something with it.” I don’t default to the Lord like she did but every day I wake up is a reason in itself to take comfort and be grateful. 

Still, we got several inches of freezing rain, sleet and snow yesterday. This morning: something about snow that one can sense from under the covers, I sensed we got more new snow in the night. A quick glance through the blinds revealed a healthy blanket on my windshield. So after my wakeup ritual I crawled back under the covers, just a few minutes, long enough to appreciate the comfort gradient between outside and in. It’s Monday morning and I don’t need to be anywhere before Wednesday noon. It doesn’t matter if I like the weather or not, I’ll stick around a few hours. If it changes, it changes. 

Easter dinner with the Millers yesterday was predictably proper and pleasant. I went light on the entrees, saving space for extra ice cream. My granddaughters are so grown up I hardly recognize them but they are absolutely cool. My April Fool-Easter was better than I had hoped for. Today is already slipping away and all things being equal, tomorrow, my dresser lamp will click on just before the K.C. Southern coal train comes through town. My alarm will buzz me awake after that if the train hasn’t already but waking up to the train horn is nice. In my own vernacular it tells me; “You are awake and it’s a new day so be glad, do something with it.” I’ll dress for the weather, whatever it may be.