Reaching for the familiar

  Image: Carrying mannequin legs dressed in jeans

You can see a lot during a drive along Lake Street in Minneapolis, especially after dark. It is comforting that some things don't change, regardless of how crazy the world gets.

Every morning the alarm wakes us up to the news. I shake off confused dreams to face a new barrage of "this cannot possibly be happening." Then I gently remind myself that peace begins at home and from within, and repeat my new mantra, "There is comfort and strength in the familiar."

Every breath, every bite, every kiss, every touch: I relish these things.These intimate and simple acts sustain us.

When I need to smile, I'll drive along Lake Street and wave at the man carrying mannequins in from the cold.