I picked up my phone to put it in my purse.  The last thing to pack before I drove to the airport.  Oh…a text message.  From the friend I’m staying with.  Better read it.  Uh oh.  Something happened during the night.  They can’t host me.  So sorry.  Will have to make it another time.  I quickly call the hotel I’m staying at for the rest of my time in Los Angeles.  Can’t check in early.  They’re completely booked.

Now what do I do?

Our family often goes to what was once my grandparents’ farm for weekends and holidays. It’s on an island in Rhode Island and a short drive from the beach.  It’s a great place to go in the summer (except for the traffic).

And when we get there, my mom reminds us, “We’re on Island Time.”

You know the post I wrote about the beauty of freshly-fallen snow?  How it covers everything like a frosting and makes it look like a fairy-land?  Well, a few days later it looked much different.

It looked like a mess.

It was an unexpected surprise.  Snow falling when the prediction was partly cloudy. I watched it meander gently down, as a silent hush fell over the earth.

And my soul quieted as well.

Have you ever had a situation where you chose to do something and thought it was going to be great?  Or fun?  At least enjoyable?  Maybe it was a vacation to a tropical island.  Or you renovated your kitchen.  And then it poured rain every day.  The construction project didn’t go at all as planned.

And you asked yourself, “Are we having fun yet?”

When I was in high school, I read a delightful play by Oscar Wilde called “The Importance of Being Earnest.”  It was a British farce or satire, a play on words.  One of the main characters, Jack, pretends to be a man named Ernest while he is in town having fun.  He wants to propose to Gwendolyn, but she thinks that’s his real name.  All sorts of mayhem ensues caused by his deception.

And of course, Jack learned that he would have been better off being earnest than Ernest.

Today as I write this it’s Valentine’s Day. A day where we celebrate love. Just yesterday I read an article about Hallmark movies, and how so many people love them because they're so uplifting.

But here's the thing. I don't find them uplifting. Why? Because they make me dissatisfied with my life.