Right now, at 4:15 AM in the morning, I just sat down intending to respond to today’s question, when through the open window I can hear coyotes off in the woods howling in the predawn darkness. And they’re loud! Every now and then we hear them, sometimes noticing by their sound that they’re on the move doing what coyotes do.

We live smack-dab in suburbia, and the undeveloped track of woodlands across the road and beyond a row of several other houses isn’t larger than a quarter-mile wide squared. Some people find the howling sounds of coyotes eerie, especially when they’re on the move. But whenever I hear them, I find myself saying, “Good for you…and welcome to the neighborhood!” For whatever reason, their presence and their howls make me smile, a slice of joy before the new day dawns.

Truly, I don’t need to look for creative ways to show the many loved ones in my life that I am grateful for them today. Only three words, expressed honestly, are required… “I love you!”

“I love you’s, opens doors, softens jagged edges, melts hardened hearts, and echo’s “I love you” in return.

Now, that’s not to say that I don’t admire all the many ways that creative types, artists of every caliber and ability, young or old, find their own unique ways of expressing their love. Some of the keepsakes that I have received and treasure for forty years and counting will attest to that!

I am grateful for this site, and “I love you,” each, those who frequent here.

Today’s question seems to imply that stepping into an unknown with a grateful heart is to be taken as a good thing? Well, that’s a brush too wide for me to swallow, personally. Of course, being positive about tackling the unknown seems like no-brainer, but not all unknowns that we are forced to deal with in life are pleasant, nor easy. Some unknowns are frightening, dangerous, and potentially catastrophic in nature, and yet must be faced too. And showing up with a grateful heart as my first tool of choice in these situations is, frankly, ineffective, and silly.

As has been done in the past, I am wondering if today’s question is “keyed” to today’s quote by Yo-Yo-Ma? The quote is, of course, wonderful, but something frequently gets lost on both ends, and meanings skewed, when they are arbitrarily linked together.

Perhaps more than anything else in the world, children, regardless of age, open me to a sense of wonder, promise, and hope. For over forty years I had the great privilege of working directly with children and teens within my community who needed support and guidance during times of crisis.

Just yesterday, while standing in line waiting for ice cream with one of our granddaughters, a woman standing behind me re-introduced herself to me and said while slipping off her sunglasses, “Hi Kevin, you probably don’t remember me. I’m Jean, and these are my two boys,” whom she then introduced to me. This wonderful occurrence happens frequently to me, and when it does, I think, what treasure, what joy it is, that pulsing quest to somehow push past obstacles, fear, and hurt and find one’s tribe and place called home.

Good morning, Christine! I’m very happy for you. Even though I am not a musician, I know people who do play the piano and who would jump at the chance to play a church organ…the bigger the better!

Sometime, I will need to share with you a story, all true, of the efforts and antic to remove an antique church organ out of a sanctuary in order to replace an old wooden floor.

But for now…good luck…have a blast…and enjoy what I hope will be a recital of pipes!