warmth

Last night's walk was a very cold one.  The temperature was a frosty 17 degrees with a wind that made every attempt to sneak in through my multiple layers of clothing.  But it was a wondrous stroll beginning with something so eerily perfect I am still having difficulty believing it happened.

As I was strolling through the neighborhood I saw a cat run from underneath a row of bushes in front of a house.  For a hopeful second I thought it was running towards me.  I felt chosen.  But only for a second, because that's when a gentleman stepped out of a car that was sitting in the driveway.

The cat, who was racing down the driveway, stopped as soon as the gentleman shut the door. The gentleman, who was a big burly fellow (though he could have been wearing layers too), bent down and very affectionately burbled the most eye-rolling baby talk I've ever heard from a grown man.  And with a quick pat, they were off, briskly walking up the driveway together.  When the door shut behind them, and they escaped into the warm house, I couldn't help but feel like I, too, had just entered a warm house.  

I carried that warmth with me for the rest of the walk.  

I also watched a man play ball with his two black labs.  The exciting thing about this was that the ball was lit up!  I chatted with the man, who told me where to get one, so it looks like my dogs will have a holiday surprise.  

And while I was on an unfamiliar street, I saw this:

 A little free library that's an airstream trailer with a license plate says 'luv2read.'