Day 104, April 14

For the last few days, the overcast skies have obscured the sun. Because I am acutely sensitive to the lack of sunlight, I feel as though a shadow has brushed over my spirit. Today, it is snowing, yet my tulips audaciously continue to bloom. They shout with color, lipstick red and schoolbus yellow. I wonder how they manage to flower even through the snow and cold, and I wish I were as brave. I am in awe of the tulips with their gaudy colors and indomitable spirit. Spring in Colorado is a fickle thing, with temperatures dropping 40 degrees in one day, with snow in the morning and heaven-sent sunshine in the afternoon. Like the tulips, we adjust. I know several people who not only adjust but triumph. Wives who've lost their husbands, friends undergoing chemotherapy, parents single-handedly raising their children. So, for today, I am grateful for tulips ... and people ... with indomitable spirits.