My desk is next to this bed where my two dogs love to take a morning nap in the winter sunlight. I glance over at them and can feel how warm their fur is, can feel relaxation. They’re quiet. Right up against each other.

My favoirte Christmas Carol is “In the Bleak Mid-Winter” and I sing it as I walk the dogs in the cold air. But there is nothing bleak about these two creatures even as the days shorten. I sing in a church choir and this season is advent–a time of waiting. Waiting for the darkness not to win. Waiting for light to return. Waiting for miracles.

I never thought of sleep as the best way to wait, but Rudy and Dixie, my two dogs, know best. They say:  find a sunny spot, close your eyes, let go of whatever you think you have to do and just be here. See what happens.