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The steady sound of the rain fills the air for yet another day. Many things must be postponed until the sun is shining, or at least until a day with no rain. My contractor tried valiantly to finish his to-do list for the upcoming sale of our house, but unfortunately he and his helper will have to come back tomorrow to finish up. The lawn company was scheduled to mow today, but I’m sure they are backed up from all the wet days.

I always say that a day like today is a day for ducks. And it’s also a good day for curling up to lose oneself in someone’s story. A nice glass of iced tea and a cozy spot, and I’m all set to travel to another place and time between the pages of a book. My love of reading started early and has only grown through the years. When I find so much to be unnerving and distasteful on TV I can reread any number of old novels that I love. This makes me feel as if I am reacquainting myself with old friends.

Young love brought me to a place of such feeling that I had no recourse, but to pour all of my new and exciting emotions out on a page. Had any other experienced such things? Just the mention of my secret crush’s name sent shivers of delight down my spine!

Page after page was filled with thoughts, hopes, and dreams of the new awakening within me. Years later when I had a little more experience in matters of the heart I read my ramblings with embarrassment. I decided that I never wanted to share my young thoughts with another so into the fire pit they went. Now, I think that I would love to have at least one or two of my early attempts at poetry, but the love of writing has stayed with me for all these years.

At first, writing for the public was a little unnerving.

What if nobody likes what I write? What if I don’t connect with the audience?

Now, I just write what’s on my heart and realize that everybody won’t like everything I have to say, but every so often I’ll connect with a reader’s heart and make his or her day a little brighter. On occasion, I hope that my writing may give a reader a new perspective or at least give them reason to think.

Today, I know I’m rambling a bit; it just seems like a day for it. The rain has stopped, but the windows are so full of condensation they look as if they have tears flowing down their faces. This makes me think of all the heartbroken people who have been touched by COVID, racial injustice, or the total lack of clarity in our news media. People need a little good news.

Let’s all try to shine some light is someone else’s world today.

Jan Penton Miller can be reached at lilsisjan@yahoo.com.