life is tricky, stay in your magic

There is magic in being able to walk down the street in mid-November carrying a just-out-of-the-oven cast iron pan of maple bacon apple crisp to a potluck dinner. The giant moon was peaking through the clouds as we made our way. My sweet husband was shining the flashlight at my feet because I said a tumble with a 450 degree cast iron pan in my arms and the subsequent 911 call would make an ugly headline. Haha. There is that.

There is magic in sitting around a table with friends, some old and some new, sharing Betsy's baked ziti, fragrant basil and plum tomatoes, garlic toast, and coffee. Gentle conversation about politics, laughter about our shared incompetence with technology, funny stories, some of which had no doubt been told before.

There is magic in being asked to play Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus at a community event. I text Regis to tell him and he responds with the big NO, but an hour later, I get a picture of wide red suspenders and a flannel shirt that he thinks will make a great costume.

There is magic in sharing fish and chips with my good friend, Kathryn. Both retired, we can linger to critique the food, the restaurant redecorating, the state of the world while others rush back to work. She plans to spend part of the winter in a warmer climate and I will miss her. I am not good at good-byes lately. probably because there have been too many.

There is magic in the little boxes I mail to three friends who I have neglected the past few months. Small kitchen utensils in bright colors, old-fashioned hankies for all our tears, bars of scented soap, Swedish dish cloths, school pictures. It costs as much for the postage as for the goods inside the boxes but I am mailing more than stuff. Nothing liquid, fragile, hazardous, or perishable. I have a laugh with Dawn over a bill from a doctor that is inflated because she asked too many questions. It's a crazy world.

There will be magic today. In yoga, in coffee with my friends, in a cozy afternoon nap after I finish my latest mystery novel, and there will be magic in our dinner with old friends this evening. We'll share good food, funny stories, and we'll be amused by our dogs. We'll talk about their plans to head south for the winter and I'll come to grips with another good-bye.

Life is tricky, my friends. Stay in your magic.