Matins

I've found a special place: Away from the noise of the TV during the kid's afternoon show, aways from the temptation of the computer. My back porch. We recently (this winter) had to replace our gutters, as they were incompetent/clogged and falling apart and we had some back-up/leakage problems with water in our crawl space, etc. Part of this repair included getting the roof on our back porch fixed. It was all hugely expensive, but now our crawl space is necessarily dry, and our back porch has a lovely roof. I have an old table out there, and an old rocker and a folding chair.

What a great place to sit, wrapped in a warm afghan, sipping something hot. Just me, the sparrows, cardinals, robins, and God. This morning the sunlight slanted across the yard from the east. The honeysuckle bushes, still brown from winter's frost, is filled with birds of all sorts. I could hear their singing. The lilac bush and the red-bud tree are still asleep. But spring is coming. The birds tell me so.

I see them flitting about, in pairs, gathering nesting materials. One lone smallish cardinal sat on the phone wire that leads into our house and chirped in time to my matins alleluias. We made quite a pair, he and I, and it was nice to have a partner for a few moments. I paused until he was done with his chorus before continuing on alone as he flew off.

So, there is my new special place. I like breathing outdoor air, even if it takes a blanket around the rest of me to stay warm. "Glory to God in the heights, on earth peace, and goodwill towards men...." Today, matins will stay with me all day.