IS THIS REAL LIFE?

Do you ever find it hard to believe
that the season you’ve longed for
and dreamed of
and spoken of only in whispers

for so long

that it began to seem more like legend
or fairytale
or prophesy
of the most fantastically preposterous variety –
and the monotony of waiting for it
eventually lulled your hope into a
cold
dark
deep
endless
slumber –

may have actually arrived?

Me too.

__

Here’s to signs of new life (and warmth), friends.

xo

__

And also, here’s to Margit Mindrum, who I just discovered is the talent behind the painting that currently hangs near my front door. I found it at a thrift store (naturally) but decided to learn who M. Mindrum is.

Here’s what I now know:
– She didn’t start painting until she was in her mid-50s – after her six children were grown.
– Over the next 20 years, she completed more than 600 paintings and had a waiting list three years long.
– She was featured in an exhibition at the James J. Hill House, titled “Minnesota Painters of Norwegian Background.”
– She never had any formal training.
– She wrote a memoir for her family and called it No Change My Heart Shall Fear, which sounds so inspiring that I’m considering buying it on Amazon. I would bet she borrowed the title from a line in this hymn.

Thanks for creating so much beauty in the second half of your life, Margit, and for welcoming this new season to mine.