Oh, Glorious Day!

Last evening, I had every intention of going to bed at my regular time, but one more little project led to one more to just one more, until my bedtime was much later than normal.  Thus, I allowed myself the luxury of getting up a little later on this Sunday morning. I opened one eye to see the clock and then closed it again, letting my mind slowly wake up with my regular routine of identifying three blessings in my life.  My blessing list was followed by a recollection of my day's to-do list.  I dozed for a few more minutes and then opened my eye again, this time in the direction of the window.  What I saw caused both of my eyes to suddenly open. There, before me was a magnificent rosy eastern sky.  What a glorious day!  I stared at the sight a bit and then let my eyelids grow heavy again.  When I awakened the next time, the eastern sky's rosy hues had given way to subtle gray, but the southern sky was striated with bands of light yellow and puffy clouds.  To the east were bright blue breaks in the gray.   My mother's favorite passage from the Psalms immediately came to mind, "This is the day that the Lord has made.  Let us rejoice and be glad in it."  How could I not find this to be a good day?  How could I not rejoice in it when my day was welcomed by such a glorious sky?!

Rise Up

I arrived first one recent early morning for a motor coach bus to take my work colleagues and me to an out-of-town meeting.  The sky was pitch and the temperature cold.  I was chilled to the bone, my eyes heavy-lidded from arising so early. I desperately tried to warm up and wake up.  As I moved to the big window in the hospital's waiting area to see if the bus was in sight, I looked over to the east and that was when my eyes opened wide and the warmth of what I saw took away any chill I might have been experiencing.  The sunrise was so amazingly beautiful.  The deep red horizon against an inky sky was so magnificent that I alerted all of my colleagues, who came rushing up to the window to catch a glimpse of the sight themselves.  One colleague told me that she has taken many photos of sunrises over the years as she leaves work after the night shift.  Another talented colleague described what she saw, committing it to memory so she could replicate it in one of her paintings.  For a few moments, we were all drawn together, not just as colleagues but as admirers of nature's beauty, a beauty that nearly took our breath away.

Tickled Pink

Winter offers the gift of later sunrises, late enough that I can stand in our kitchen window, mug of hot water (yes, hot water!) in my hands, watching the sun come up.  One recent weekday morning, I was nearly late for work because I stood in the window, completely captivated by the magnificent, pink sunrise to the east.  To say I was tickled pink would seem humorous and tongue-in-cheek, but in truth, I was happy just to stand in the window with my mug of hot water warming my insides, watching that awe-inspiring sight.  How can one begin the day in a bad mood when something as beautiful and breathtaking as a pink sunrise is right outside the window?  In celebration, I wore something pink to work and truly felt "in the pink" the entire day.