Yeah, the economy sucks. I've been out of work more than a year, but am making ends meet. But in this spring of discontent, several delightful things happened to made me appreciate the more important things in life.
First, it snowed! Four inches of good-packing snow fell. It covered the muddy yard, outlined barely budding branches and morning sunshine put a glorious shimmer on everything -- especially our nearby tree-lined river. And I got to throw the official last snowballs of the season.
And by afternoon, the snow had melted and spring resumed.
My kid got straight A's! My 17-year-old came home with straight A's for the first time in his life. He's struggled at times in high school, but finally gets it and his confidence shows. As a dad, I'm proud of him and it's a delight to see the pride in his eyes knowing he did a good job.
My younger kid got a great report card, too. An "A" in spelling after struggling with Cs. Notations from her teacher for great effort and behavior. She's nine years old and burst into the house after school, couldn't wait to share the news.
I sometimes fret too much about the future and the shape of the country and how my family is going to survive. And then a day like this comes along and puts things in perspective.
(Oh, and I got my own piece of good news when an editor I work with complimented me on a piece I wrote for a web site -- a paying gig -- and added a promise of more work to come.)