On a Monday

 “He who has a why, can bear any how."

I heard this quote repeated two or three times last night while watching a "60 Minutes" segment featuring a mother who had lost her only wonderful son as a result of the Oct. 7 attack.

She had learned from a freed hostage who spent three days with him that her son was following that very mantra while imprisoned after the attacks. 

Learning the anguish this mother suffered while publicly and relentlessly employing every means possible to secure his release, along with other hostages, and later after he was murdered in an underground tunnel was hard to bear. 

We, in America, have no clue what it's like to live entire lives in what seems like constant terror and war. 

Sadly, over the past decades, we have learned through school shootings, church, grocery store, movie theaters and concert massacres, random shootings, etc. that violence, which always seemed so foreign, is making its way into our society. 

And, with it comes anguish, the consequences lead to horrible realities much like Rachel Goldberg-Polin has endured. And, knowing the outcome there's a sad irony in the statement that her son clung to during his imprisonment and subsequent murder. 

Somewhat gratifying to his mother, however, was the moment she learned that her son's "why" was his parents so he did his very best with every moment after his capture to determine the "how."

Knowing this gave her a tangible sense that their connection would be everlasting.  

Hearing the statement left an impact on me.  

I think we have all probably lived by this maxim with any hardship we endure.  It's just that the words for our struggle would not come so simply as they were stated on last night's powerful and heart-wrenching "60 Minutes" segment. 

And, so, with them now etched in my mind, the next time some seemingly formidable situation arises in my life, I will think of Rachel, the mom, and Hersh, son she lost, along with their strength of character and do my best to figure out why and how.

Ironically, sometimes even extreme sadness and tragedies can inspire us to bravely persevere against the forces.   

There's a reason I've been painting the board fence.  

The photo offers a sample. 

What could be prettier than horses with a white fence, green grass and snow-capped mountains and blue sky in the background. 

When CB comes home and the horses are shed off and the barnyard is a muck yard, I'll inspire them to run and buck and rear with that background, and I'll be taking pictures.

All those hours of painting have been worth it when moments like these arise. 

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When you see three Heelers in a the back of a pickup truck, ya gotta take a photo. 

This bunch appeared a bit shy about posing too much, but they were cute. 

No apologies for posting so many daffodil photos.  

They're just putting on a show this year, and I'm loving it. 

The next fun color show will be when the columbine pop out. 

Looking forward to that. 

In the meantime, I'll just keep tending to the lawn, the greenhouse garden and anything else that makes the place look "purty." 

Happy Monday.