Alive

I usually eat in the cafeteria simply because it is easier. On those days when I don't carry a lunch, the cost is very close to that of a used Mazda, especially if you get tea.
I didn't carry a lunch today and I was bracing for lunch thinking I might need to fatten my wallet at the ATM before getting into the lunch line but we had a system to go down and I had to get on a conference call which lasted through lunch and when I did get free, the lunchroom was closed.
I decided to walk across the parking lot to a small hamburger place. The sun was out and warm as toast. The Bradford Pear trees, wild plum and the dogwood trees were almost in full bloom. The songbirds were skittering from tree to tree, surveying new home sites for nesting.
I ordered my food and picked up a Black & White newspaper and sat outside. There were several lawn workers blowing leaves and cutting grass in the distance but the sounds were not distracting...because they reminded me of spring.
I sat there, slowly eating my food and reading the paper. It felt like I grew a few inches during lunch. It also made the afternoon go much better.
We will soon be planning our spring cookout with picking & grinning, eating, talking, cooking marshmallows and just enjoying the fact that we're alive.