criss cross applesauce, 1, 2, 3, 4.....

these are the words outside in the hallway,
on the other side of my door.
tiny children--pre-school....
sitting on the floor, crossing their legs,
after they have gone to the bathroom,
and are waiting for the rest of the class to finish taking turns.
after all are peed out,
they count off....
"leo, we can't go until you remember your number"
the teacher gently reminds.
leo remembers.
and off they go,
next door,
to sit next to their crayons, and then commence coloring
something.

i sit,
here at my desk,
listening to the bustle...
making a list,
crossing off what has been finished,
adding what i recently said i would do,
thinking, loosely about my sermon for the weekend,
i pause.

i breathed on my way to the office today.
i mean, i had to get here extra early, and  i have to drive through boston traffic
which is loaded during rush hour
i had plenty of time
and i took a sip of gorgeous tasting coffee
and thought,
i wish i could take more time
to sit at a coffee shop, and look out the window,
look at the people,
muse,
pray,
breathe....

and then i realized my car could be my coffee shop,
so i relaxed into the slow ride,
sipping my lovely coffee,
looking out my windows, watching the cars crawl with me,
and my mind wandered to what i need to do,
and then i said to myself,
just breathe.
deep cleansing breaths.
in with love,
out with peace,
in with heart,
out with mercy,
more deep cleansing breaths...

it was a nice quiet break.
thank You.
amen