What hope looks like to me:

Do you see the tiny little tulip bud just below the snow? That thing is springing out of the ground in the faith, against all evidence, that it will be spring again, and it will have sunshine and all that it needs to survive.
A hummingbird nest in the tree in front of my house... it hopefully awaits the return of those beautiful little birds in the spring.

Winter is a hard time in Colorado. The beginning of it is always joyful for me. But around this time of the year, it is just dark, depressing, and difficult. It is difficult to run. It is impossible to ride a bike. It is too much trouble to go swimming (even indoors.)

I know that the day will again come when this dreary feeling will be gone. My neighbor and I just stood outside and made our plans for our annual trip to the greenhouse - to purchase our flowers, plants, maybe even a tree! The trip isn't until the first weekend in May, but we both look forward to it - even though it is nearly 3 months away.

I slept until 7:30 this morning. I never sleep this late. The phone rang and I spent over an hour talking with a good friend who is going through a difficult time. God Bless Him.

I am feeling much better, and it is sunshiney and in the 50s outside, so I am fighting the urge to go outside and run. But I am going to force myself to wait until Tuesday. I will be more careful in my running now. I do not want to have this kind of pain again, it was unpleasant!

And I want to thank the few bloggers who continue to comment on my blog. I do appreciate you.