Reminder from the birds

The fog is thick outside and the sun has not yet risen at this hour now that we have entered daylights savings time.  Water drops from the night's rain cling in a pattern like stars to the screen I look through.  The ground is wet, a reminder that I need to leave earlier this morning as I will be on foot, leaving my scooter behind to keep my clothes clean.  A restlessness still unsettles me that even a walk in the rain yesterday couldn't calm.  Then I made the mistake this morning of glancing at the headlines while I drank my coffee - war, skyrocketing oil prices, a tumbling stock market, delays at airports as workers continue to miss paychecks - a metaphorically darkness seems to have settled over the whole world.

Yet a robin sings brightly, repeating its chorus over and over from a perch that can't be far from my window.  A cardinal then adds to the song with its soprano voice.  The rhythm of a towhee can be heard in the distance.  A sweet Carolina Wren has just joined them all.  It's as if the birds know something I don't.  Or maybe they are here with me this morning to remind me of what I already know - that even on a cloudy, dark day like today, the sun will still rise.

I really miss that ring that broke a few weeks ago, the copper colored one with the sun rising over the mountains.  I didn't realize I could become so attached to such a simple piece of jewelry.  Maybe I do need to order another to keep that reminder close even when I don't have a chorus of birds singing to me.