I spent today cleaning house. As most of the people who know me can tell you, I hate cleaning house, but I am cleaning because my sister is coming for a visit. (Isn't it always the case that company inspires cleaning??) For the first time in our adult lives, my sister is coming to spend some time as a guest in my home. She is coming without spouse, kids, parents, or any of the other distractions with which we have surrounded ourselves for years. For four days, it will be the two of us, catching up on thirty years of separation. I am both excited and a bit apprehensive. I hope she appreciates the place I live as much as I love sharing it with family and friends, and I hope our conversations can reaffirm the love I have for her and for all of my family.

As a break from the cleaning, George and I went to the sandwich shop where we encountered a young man walking across America in honor of his mother who died of cancer last year. His goal is to walk 20 miles a day as well as to encourage each of the people he meets to walk 20 minutes every day. I can do that---I want to do that to honor this man. We bought him a sandwich and put him up in a motel room for the night. It is drizzling rain, so a warm bed and a hot shower will give him the energy to keep on. I am going to find his web site and keep track of him so I can let him know that I am honoring him with 20 minutes every day.

So it has been a good day---the house is clean, I an excited about family, and I have been blessed, inspired, and encouraged by a stranger! Can it be any better than that?? I think not!!!