WHAT MATTERS MOST

Polar temperatures greeted me this morning as I awoke to 1 degree Celsius (33.8 Fahrenheit). For some reason, the upstairs thermostat was once again not functioning properly which made the bedroom and bathroom above the garage unbearably cold. As a result, I have been sleeping in the living space upstairs on my daughter's bed as it is a much warmer area and does not feel as if I have stepped into a walk-in cooler.

It was a perfect day to enlist the kitchen in warming up the downstairs area with the hope the warm air would find its way upstairs. I set the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and removed the leftover cookie dough - from yesterday's batch of hazelnut chocolate chip cookies I made for my children - from the refrigerator. I placed three mounds of the dough on a cookie sheet and waited the 13 minutes for my mid-morning snack.

As the cookies baked, I put pinto beans to soak for the pasta and fagioli soup I made later in the afternoon. Nothing is better than a home cooked meal. The aromas wafting from the kitchen were inviting and comforting on this arctic autumn day.

Today would have been the day I arrived from my overseas trip. Instead, I left five days earlier than planned, fatigue having gotten the best of me. Regrets ensued but nothing could be done to remedy the situation at this point in time.

Reflecting on this unfortunate incident with my friend on Skype today, we realised despite having lost those five days, we gained a future we might otherwise not have had. Sometimes we need to step back in order to gain perspective. Sometimes we need an alternate point of view. Sometimes we simply need to leave in order to realise what matters most.