This morning, after dressing in multiple layers, donning a heavy coat, hat, scarf and gloves that do not match but are warm I ventured out with the dog. It was sunny; blue skies, white snow and it didn’t feel like the -3 degrees that the weatherman said it was. Of course long johns under jeans and a turtle neck heavy sweater will do that! As the sun rose above the trees I heard a robin’s song. There is hope.

On my way into campus sitting on the bus and feeling like a stuffed sausage under all my clothes, I watch the world go by. I see several large flocks of robins on the ground along the way, and one flock in a tree, looking for all the world like red Christmas ornaments. We travel the north neighborhood and a woman gets on the bus with dreadlocks almost down to her waist, seashells and beads woven into the hair. She settles in front of me, digs in her bag and pulls out a book to read. It’s in French. A few stops later the bus is beginning to fill up. A man climbs on board juggling his backpack, his cup and a book. He settles in next to me and I squish over against the wall to give him room. He reads Proust as he sips his tea. I continue my musings and notice a bright red cardinal in the scrub along the road. More students climb aboard. The quietness of our “library bus” is shattered with talk and laughter. The languages I hear are not mine, but my place on the bus feels right. It’s another morning in the life of a lucky student. Lucky even if it is -3 degrees this morning.