There are mornings when I awake with a start,
as if Mother Earth, herself, is shaking my shoulder...
trying to motivate my feet to the floor.
Most times I listen.
I've learned the value in rising early to greet the day.
That shoulder shake occurred at 4:30 yesterday.
With no hint of light in the morning sky,
I stayed in bed, warmly tucked beneath the covers,
my face chilled by the pre-dawn air sifting through the screens.
I read until 5:15 and decided that it was time to start the day.
I headed to the barn with a headlamp to guide my way.
It didn't take long for me to figure out what Mother Earth had
in store for me.

As the sun neared the horizon,
the most intense and magnificent light show began in the
eastern sky.
"How lucky I am," I thought, "to witness this beauty."

It was most certainly a gift to begin my day in this manner,
and a reminder that each day is meant to be cherished.

Sadly, we have had two reminders in the past week of just how
precious and fleeting life is.
We lost a close neighbor last week, quite suddenly, to cancer.
Yesterday we lost a close family member in a tragic accident.
Both of these losses have knocked our knees out from under us.
Both men were slightly younger than...