Notes from Steve

I was looking at this gingko tree on Saturday in Des Moines; it literally had all of its leaves and then "whoop" all of them fell off to the ground in one hour.  It was then that I knew God had said, "Hey Steve, autumn is over, get prepared for a long winter."  And I then got cold and had cravings for chili and nog.  

I loudly told everyone last year that I would work hard to change my attitude towards winter.  I will be positive and embrace the season. December 22, 2024, I pulled my hamstring and was crippled for 3 months.  February, for the first time in my life, was spent (2 weeks) in warm weather, and God responded by giving us two major blizzards in March.  So, I'm not declaring anything this winter.  I'm going to fake smile and nap as much as possible until mid-March.

Sometimes stuff doesn't work out like we planned.  It's not our decision how things work out.  How we react to situations, though, is up to us.  I read something recently, "he smiled with his mouth, but that smile didn't reach his eyes".  My friend Liz used to comment that "even fake sincerity is better than none at all."  A lot of times, we don't feel like saying hi in the hallways, or smiling or being nice … but we have to.  At work, we have to, but in life - technically we don't "have to", but a fake smile and a non-genuine "hi" might just make someone's day.  And for that very reason, it's worth it.

Yay.  Snow.