The word for today, the word that describes my heart today, is longing.

Longing seems healthy to me. It doesn't mean being constantly unhappy, brooding, only wanting what you don't have. You can be perfectly capable of enjoying the moment, of being in the joy of the moment, while holding a certain longing inside you at the same moment. At least I can.

Today I did.

I thoroughly loved hiking in the woods with Polly today. We had an extraordinarily fall-like day, for November in Minnesota. It was so warm, about 60 degrees, that you didn't really even need a jacket. Polly and I ran UP the hills, and on the downhills, I scuffed in the leaves for fun. We "hunted" squirrels to our hearts' content, and we also spent lots of time walking on the paths. It was a wonderful way to spend an hour.

But there is a longing inside of me for my ocean and for several of my dearest people who are not here. A real longing.

I tried to keep my cell phone off for most of the day. It's just too distracting. When I turned it on, there was a voice-mail message from my childhood best friend, Joanne, who was feeling a pull to her old friend. Really great to hear her. She said, "Things are going really well, but I miss my oldest friend."

Sometimes I think that longing makes us appreciate people and places more. It's acute.