Greetings, dear readers. This year the winter weather has put my area on a roller coaster from deep cold and snow to ice and freezing rain and now to a week of cold rain that has us facing flood watches. We always want to be able to predict the weather – our wardrobe and plans and sometimes much more depend on it.

Do you remember those sayings? The ones about morning and night? Red sky at night, sailors delight. Red sky at morning, sailors take warning. Turns out that’s not always true, but it works often enough to stick.

I was sitting in my home office the other morning and glanced toward the window to see a vibrant purple sky. My first thought was “ooo, pretty!” And then I wondered what it “meant”. Standing at the window and watching purple and pink blush across the sky and then fade into daylight, I decided maybe that didn’t matter. “Pretty” was enough to start the day on a sweet note.

Are there things you notice that forecast the morning for you? The little signs that this is going to be a good day? Or the ones that say this is a good day to pick up a large coffee on the way to work and hole up in the office for a while – like, until Wednesday? You may not even know why your mood feels like a storm coming on, and the truth is, you don’t have to. Your feelings are yours and you don’t have to justify them. What you do in response – that’s where some choice comes in.

I have those days, too.  Who doesn’t? And while we can’t do a whole lot about what Mother Nature is serving up, I find I can sometimes work a little magic on that internal weather, especially on those “see you Wednesday” days. Probably my favorite magic is Fruit Fairy.  (I heard that! I have not lost it – I just put it somewhere safe and now have no idea where that is…) I know that sounds ridiculous, but it’s not rainbows-and-ponies magic. It really is just a bag of fruit.

On a day when you start out in a mood that can melt lead – first, be kind to yourself. It’s hard carrying that around. Next, stop at the store on your way to work. Go to the bagged produce and find what’s on special. You can usually pick up a bag of oranges or apples for five bucks or less. (Get yourself a nice carry-away lunch, too, if you want. Just because you’re on Fruit Fairy patrol doesn’t mean you have to hang around the coffee pot if you need some solitude.) Take it all to your workplace, and go to the break room or kitchen or wherever your common area is. Leave the bag of fruit with a note that says “Help yourself!” Most days I like to do this anonymously, so no one is quite sure who the Fruit Fairy is. Then watch the faces of your colleagues when they find this small gift. The surprise and the smiles are sweet return. That’s usually enough to start blowing the black clouds out of my mood.

It doesn’t have to be fruit for the team – you might stop for coffee and decide to bring your office admin her favorite beverage. You could snip a rose from your front yard and leave it on the desk of a colleague who loves flowers. Or just give a genuine compliment to someone you meet on your day. Small things all. But small things with good energy in their wake. And who couldn’t use more of that?

Wishing you sweet weather for your day.

Stay tuned for more on the Here’s a Quarter blog next week! As always, your thoughts and comments are always welcome – they are moderated (I know – adulting again), so they may take a little while to appear, but I read them all and appreciate that you were here. Thank you!