Each year, there comes a day with an inevitable conclusion: it’s time to get the winter coat out of the closet, the one that is Really Warm. As I snuggled into its puffy splendor, I was reminded that I spent most of last winter with a breeze blowing right through my middle, thanks to a missing button. Somehow across all those chilly months, I couldn’t find time to replace it.

Following an extended search for my sewing kit, I finally tended to the long-neglected repair. It took all of ten minutes, and now I’ll be toasty warm all season.

Dear ones, in this hustling bustling time, full of urgent demands,

What might need tending?

What might need mending?

Whether friendships or well-being or buttons,

May we bask in the warmth that follows.