DECEMBER SURPRISE!

I spent a good deal of time today reflecting on the passing of a friend, Angel Gnau, from Portland, Oregon, who lost her battle with cancer yesterday.  She was my mentor for three years since my own cancer diagnosis.  I was sent her way by a group that she volunteered with called "Breast Friends", based in Oregon, through my local clinic here in Wisconsin.

Angel was a nine year survivor of ovarian cancer.  I never met her in person, but we corresponded with email and she was always upbeat and ready to answer my questions and give me tips on how to cope.  You never would have known how she was suffering if you didn't ask her, as she never complained and was always full of hope.

On my way home from a walk down the road this morning, after watching the water trickle through the culverts, I was thinking how empty the world seemed, no squirrels, no deer, no birds singing or in flight.  It seemed too quiet, but I guess that's the way it is in December in Wisconsin. 

This year with the mild temperatures and lack of snowfall it's a little different though, and if you really open your eyes you might be surprised at what you see.  Just after feeling overwhelmed with emptiness on my walk, I spotted a robin in a neighbor's yard!  It was the first time I have ever seen a robin here in December.  I suppose this poor bird never migrated, but then again we can imagine that it did, and since it has now returned, winter is just about over.  How fun is that!

After taking a few photos of the lone robin, I spotted a banded woolly bear caterpillar crawling down the road not far from my driveway.  I picked it up carefully, watching it coil up in the palm of my hand, and placed it in the road ditch so it wouldn't get run over.

Seeing the robin, just five days before Christmas, gave me new hope.  Although December can be a quiet time, this year it is different than any I remember.  I am thankful for the chance to observe the little things in nature around me this month, and I'm thankful that I had the chance to know Angel.  She not only helped me in my struggles with cancer, but so many others as well, and I won't forget her, or the December robin.