Juxtapose

Yesterday was, for both Mark and I, a good and bad work day. Mark's work day started at 6AM and was not great in the beginning but got better halfway through the day, thus improving my morning when I heard that it turned into Answer To Prayer Day. By this, I mean what we always mean when we call something an "answer to prayer" - that is, God answered "yes!" My work day started at 3PM and was, I guess, a God Answered No To My Prayer Day, which was okay too, and not entirely unexpected. Maybe it's pregnancy speaking here, but I'm starting to do less and less well at working 2nd shifts where I don't sit down and eat. I was doing crackers and OJ on the run, yes, but no food. I was tired and my patients were all circling the drain and I was just very glad to be home when I finally made it there at midnight. They call the shift 3-11 but I think they should really call it, "230-12 midnight shift," but that's not quite as snappy.

I was fully expecting to sleep in a little this morning after the two of us didn't conk out until one AM, but so far I haven't been able to. I made an angry noise when my alarm went off, but then I heard all the chirping birds outside my window and that woodpecker that is always hacking away in some tree around here. I haven't really liked birds at all, at least not since I did my Abeka science Book O' Birds in fourth grade and learned every state bird and how to color them and identify them with my geeky homeschooler binoculars. Still, I love them now in the mornings. They're my favorite sound to hear, to know that spring is coming, it's getting warmer, no more snow, no more dark.

I padded around in my big purple fuzzy bathrobe that Christine bought me as a shower present way back when, and I opened the screen door a crack to talk to Mark as he took out the trash to the curb and got into his truck to leave for work. I fell in love with today already. It's foggy out, the air is damp and warm, but it looks like the type of fog that will burn off and reveal clear blue skies mid-morning. Fifty degrees is not "warm" but it feels warm at six AM, and Mark got into his truck in a hoodie, sans jacket, making me so happy to be alive and well on an already lovely day.