Did someone call on you to serve today?

Are you normally the giver, or the receiver?

In these days of Advent, perhaps I can do both with gratitude.

Spilling in, texturized by net curtains from another era,

Light falls into the doorways which make a home warm and safe.

How many times has a handle been turned,

By little hands, old hands, reached for but not gained.

These are my thoughts as the past streams into our future.

Hand placed gently as details of the scene are whispered,

With a kind, soothing and inquisitive voice.

Borne only of love and care,

Stooping to engage with the wonder of an animal in its stall,

On this winter day.

Another fleeting moment of grateful thanksgiving.