I love this black and white image of the pansy, because it challenges me to use my imagination, to think of a pansy in the flower box, of color and light and warmth and Spring, which is only days away. Life does not always bring us what we want, and we are called upon to accept the challenges and imagine different better experiences and times.

I wrote this morning about the bitter cold and my struggle with it, and I got a message from a lovely person saying “I feel to bad for you and Maria and for the animals.” Her message reminded me not to turn winter into a struggle story, an act of lament, or self-pity. We are so used to our culture of complaint – who does not complain about politics, the weather, taxes, food and gas prices, aches and pains, the way things change  – it is almost our currency. Sometimes I think the purpose of Facebook is to soothe.

I wrote her back and said please do not feed badly for me, I apologize if I seemed to be seeking that, social media is a place where people go to complain and suffer and then be comforted.  I love my life, I am happy and lucky in almost every important way. Like almost everyone else, the weather has been a grind, I wish I had more money, I’m sorry people think books are worth less than a cup of coffee.

But I have love, work, a creative life, a wonderful partner, a successful and loving daughter, a great dog, a fine camera,  a home that I love, and donkeys, chickens and barn cats to boot. I’ve achieved my lifelong dream to make my living writing books and now, blogging and taking photos. How can anyone want more than that?

I’m a story teller and I told the story of my encounter with cold this morning, and it seems like I told it well. I didn’t even need to embellish it. That’s good. But winter is a couple of months, or a day or a feeling. It is a season,  not my life. My life is pretty stellar and I am grateful for it every minute, maybe not so much when it’s – 21.

Please don’t ever feel bad for me, especially when I might seem to be complaining, I do not need pity or rescue. The angels sit on my shoulders and the cherubs kiss my cheeks, they guide me through the good times and the bad.