also: below.

Sunday

Raking leaves as more fall on my head
Coffee with maple syrup
Four o'clock sunshine at noon
Fleece vest, 40 degrees

Content does not mean not-busy. Rake leaves, drink coffee, bask in blue sky. Remember the first November here, falling into finished pile just as the Veteran's Day parade came by. All I seem to talk about, because it's really all there is: blue sky, sunshine, fall leaves, coffee. The rest is underlying. Purpose, work, accomplishment and plotting the course forward -- these things are happening, and their result is this contented-ness. I have four hours of Accounting or Death this afternoon, a paper on minimum wage to polish and present, statistics to plot, marketing to plan, and management strategies to dissect. The real estate office is coming together. Amherst's internship program is taking shape. The nursing home is totally on track. Once I get back out to Colorado, family will be all present and accounted for. My heart's friend is close and honest.

Now: not to confuse wanting with having. Back to zen raking.

...

Hidden

If you place a fern
under a stone
the next day it will be
nearly invisible
as if the stone has
swallowed it.

If you tuck the name of a loved one
under your tongue too long
without speaking it
it becomes blood
sigh
the little sucked-in breath of air
hiding everywhere
beneath your words.

No one sees
the fuel that feeds you.

-- Naomi Shihab Nye