Hurdles

The nippiest day of the year—so far. Sophie resisted going for a walk this morning—she was far too cozy on the couch—so I put her in her jacket and she hopped down.

The wind has effectively swept the sidewalks clear of leaves, but Sophie’s first hurdle was leaping the dam in front of the door to get outside.  

Earlier this morning I had braved the cold to walk to the coffee shop. Another regular told me it is only four months until spring. Actually, it’s less than that, since New Mexico February’s frequently offer some lovely warm days.

But today is nothing to complain about: blue sky, chill calm air, and lots of leaves floating down, clearing the way for the winter sun to warm us.

Sophie and I paused outside Fiona’s house. Fiona, a small poodle mix, had spotted Sophie through the window and barked. We moved out of the driveway for Roger to drive in. Fiona’s barks changed to very demanding yelps at Roger’s slowness to join her; he petted Sophie first.

I have been silent in this blog for months—preoccupied with revising the second volume of my trilogy, working to fill holes in the third, and going over the formatting of the first—due soon to be uploaded for publication.

This morning I faced my real terror at the prospect of publishing—an undefined terror but there just the same. Walking to tea, I wanted to roll up into a ball. It took an effort to hold my shoulders back, or “Lift the heart,” as they used to say in yoga.

Lift the heart

It helped. All the signs I look for while walking were with me. The streets opened up, no waiting for traffic. No cold standing at the bus stop to come home; in fact,  I had to run to catch the bus.

But even knowing the Cosmos is on my side, nothing has changed. I still have to face those final hurdles in this my first publishing venture. But the signs tell me that the hurdles are no more than I can handle—like Sophie’s leap across those leaves outside the door.

Stay tuned. And lift your heart.