Even on the bitterest days

I walk with my dog even on the bitterest days. He needs it and I need it. We get to the trail and he is like a young puppy again, sprinting around, off leash. We are sometimes the only ones there. At times, I need to leash him, which he will submit to, but he would so much rather run free.

At home, he lies by the heater or hovers around the kitchen, hoping for things to be dropped, but on the trail, he is free. He puts the need for heat and the need for food on hold and just runs.

Join in, help out

This is my "sticker" for the pledge that I'll be doing today at Starbucks. I'm pledging to put in 5 volunteer hours in my community. What do I do already? I volunteer to do videotaping for a group called The Black Pioneers of Niagara Falls. They are a group of African American citizens of the Niagara Falls area who have incredible stories to tell of their migration North in the early 20th century. I've done some editing of the dvds and a presentation with some of the co-founders of the group. I also bring food to our church food pantry and my kids love to get involved in this. It really has brought about some discussions about having and not having "enough". My kids now realize that some people in our city don't have enough to eat.

I need to do more, though. Of course, I should put in more volunteer hours, but this will get the ball rolling. You have until the 26th if you would like to get involved, too.

Sometimes, before my son goes to sleep (he is 4), he talks about God. Tonight he was talking about how, after we die, we live with God. He said "I know it will be good, but I can't imagine any place nicer than here."