02.13.2026 | Ordinary Friday

What Do You Do All Day?
 
The little Doodle girl and I were out early this morning, just as the sun was breaking the horizon. It’s something we do most every day, rain or shine. The snowstorm didn’t stop us. The cold didn’t stop us. It slowed me down, of course, but our daily walkabouts are part of our rhythm, our little ritual of greeting the day together.
 
We’ve been retired for quite a few years now, and inevitably, when we meet someone who isn’t retired, or has no desire to retire, they ask the same question:
“What do you do all day?”
 
It used to get under Dr. B’s skin. She is, as always, busy with her volunteer work, her jigsaw puzzles, her cooking and writing, her craft projects, the list goes on. As for me, the answer is simple:
I putter.
 
I putter about. I putter around. I’m puttering. That’s what I do all day.
 
People give me the most quizzical looks. What does that even mean? Honestly, I’m not entirely sure myself. Yet at the end of each day, I can list the things that were done. Most days I’m bone tired and ready to “rest my eyes” for a bit. Naps are essential after a morning and early afternoon of dedicated puttering.
 
When we retired, our number one goal was to enjoy our lives together and build a home we never felt the need to vacation away from. Our cozy cottage in Carondelet. Our little garden with its flowers and vegetables and fruit. Our little Doodle girl. We are blessed.
 
We are not wealthy in the material sense. But we are rich in love. We continue to have faith. We keep hope alive. Yes, we struggle. I struggle sometimes. But we are grateful for the lives we have been given. Grateful. Thankful.
 
On this last Friday before the season of Lent begins, I give thanks to the Creator of all things for every blessing I have received.
 
“Thank you” is my prayer today.
 
I pray that your puttering is blessed with purpose.
I pray that your resting, with eyes closed, be blessed with peace,
and your days, ordinary as they may seem
be revealed as the quiet miracles they are.
 
I pray that gratitude rise up like morning light,
steady and sure, warming every corner.
And may the One who created all things
meet you in the rhythms of your life today.