After a wonderfully warm stretch before this arctic freeze, my iris (not actual picture), are poking their heads above the frozen soil, like a groundhog, checking to see if Spring is just around the corner. Unfortunately this much anticipated season is still subject to the jurisdiction of our Colorado Winter. So, settle in for at least another one to two months of icy unpredictability. (Still, fun to see that you irises are alive after my brutal thinning and spreading last Fall!) Kinda reminds me of our COVID weather forecast as well. “Vaccines are en route, but herd immunity is still a ways down the pike. Be patient.” Little sprouts of those lucky ducks who have managed to procure the vaccine are popping up all around me. Hope!! A prison break in the making! Ain’t a’gonna happen for me for quite a while as my oncologist doesn’t want to risk any more onslaught on my body while chemo is running its brutal course. So my jail break from “Winter’s” isolating grasp won’t happen until mid Summer. Spring will be celebrated from inside my increasingly quarantined abode as my immune system takes a beating. BUT every day adds up! And I can CHOOSE to view it as a prison or a sabbatical. Restriction or retreat! Vacant or vacation! Self-pity or spiritual productivity! Someday, as busyness once again calls the shots on my life, I will long for this quiet time of restoration and reflection. God, remind me of this daily as cabin fever kicks in. And thank you for those little sprouting heads to remind me that life is hopefully humming, even beneath that unwelcoming frozen ground!