by the looks of these pictures, it's spring in my house.
that's extra funny because i took these over the last several days with a snow storm ripping limbs down outside and a pile of wet snow gear the size of a vw bug in my front hall. i didn't take a picture of that, though.

i know i said i was moving on. but as i travel through town, and walk around my neighborhood, it's really disheartening to see all of the tree damage that was done by the storm. it wasn't that it was a big wind; the snow was just so heavy, it took down all sorts of beautiful old trees and hedges. we've lost much of the japanese maple that stands in our front yard, quite a few boxwood hedges, and a large part of one of the lilac trees. also, the big stand of forsythia that serves as a complete privacy screen on one side of our porch is all broken. tim thinks it will grow back quickly, but perhaps not in time for this spring or summer.

i know i said i was moving on. but as i look at these pictures-that last one is from the first night of the storm, when what was essentially a three day block party commenced-i realize that the things i was stressed about were so very minor. and that the wealth of friends and community and resources that we have is truly remarkable. or, perhaps not.

and that is what i keep thinking about. how lucky we are - all of us - to live where we live and to have what we have. and to have each other. i'm sure what happened in our neighborhood-the support and camaraderie that cradled us when we needed help-happened again and again in neighborhoods all over town. and in your town, too, during times of trouble.

i keep thinking about people who have lost so much more than a cherished lilac tree, or a refrigerator full of food. who have worries more acute than whether their pipes will freeze.

and on a day where i feel overwhelmed by laundry and mama-worry, i wonder how i could possibly help anyone else ouside of these six girls. i feel that i couldn't do anything that would really matter. but that's not true, is it? i'm not sure what i'm getting at. i don't know what i could do. i certainly don't want to sound preachy. it's just what i've been thinking about.

i feel lucky. don't you?
tt