Thirty-eight degrees Fahrenheit and climbing up, ever so s-l-o-w-l-y to thirty-nine. Gadzooks, it's a heat wave: the high today is predicted to be 62 degrees.

I love it when the temperatures are between freezing and cool, but even I will admit to a bit of a chill when my bare feet hit the cold floor this morning.

It's time to station that extra pair of footwear next to the bed again. During the summer they migrate to various parts of the room, but in winter they live right there where the floorboard creaks when I step on it, getting out of bed.

Our Small Group Meeting last night was outstanding. Terrific is becoming the norm. I was worried about being the facilitator, because I've never been in that position before, but to my surprise and gratification, it's perfect for me.

It still astonishes me when I realize that a) people like me; and b) I've been gifted with leadership skills (though of an unusual kind). I've been told that my style is collegial, first among equals, with a little coaching on the side.

I think back 50 years or so and wonder how that terribly shy child, that socially awkward adolescent, that rebellious young woman ever became a leader, ever learned to express love. Good leadership's source is from being loved and loving others.

I can remember, even today, living in a commune in the early 70's, where they sat me down one day and said, "We like you. We love you." Really? Really?? No one had ever said, "I love you" to me before.

That's not to say that my mother didn't love me; she did. But New England Yankees are not demonstrative by nature, and she never said it when I was growing up. It was too "sentimental, too mushy." Not until many years later, when I said to her, "Mom, I love you," that she replied, "I love you, too."

So, I exhort you: If you love (or like) someone, tell them. It may make all the difference.