When Winter Comes
Am I glad to live in a spot in this great, big world that has the four seasons?
I vacillate on the answer to this question...
Some days I think to myself, "who needs winter?" and long for the tropical isle where you don't even need to own a winter coat, and where you could teach your children about snow the same way I teach mine about African Hippos- through the pages of a book!
Other days, however, I think how nice this seasonal variety really is! Experiencing tulips in the spring, fireflies in the summer, pumpkin pie in the fall, and fires on the hearth in winter lend that predictable rhythm to life that I would be lost without!
I have, therefore, decided that I have a love-hate relationship with winter! I love drinking tea by the fire and watching the snow fall from the warm side of the glass (am I beginning to sound old?), but unloading groceries while a bitter wind bites my back? Taking care of sick children in a cooped up house? Snowy puddles on my kitchen floor?
Not so much...
In the summer, I rarely wish time away, but when winter comes, I have to work a lot more with myself to remain cheerful, positive and patient.
Winter, for me, is about holding on and waiting for better things to come.
However, even if endurance is the underlying feeling, I still proceed to enjoy many of the things that this season has to offer that just don't happen any other time of the year...
Here are some examples:
Chambersburg Ice Fest... held the last weekend of January & enjoyed by our family nearly every year since the beginning. This year the weather was just warm enough for some of the sculptures to be undergoing the process of melting, but they were still unique and we could usually guess what they were!
A large snow-storm named Jonas... was great cause for excitement & just what we needed to take our minds off a virus running its course through four out of five of the family members. Wesley & the children did quite a bit of heavy-lifting over the weekend, but we were also blessed with good neighbors who helped us out with their snow-blowers!
Doughnut day... which was actually today, as it always falls the day before Ash Wednesday. My mom agreed to come over to help make a couple batches of these Baked Doughnuts and it was the best day we had in a long time! Not only was it snowing, making it extra pretty outside and extra cozy inside, but we counted our baking project for a day of school, and teacher & pupil alike enjoyed a break from the books! And let it just be said that there's nothing like the cheer a mother/grandma brings into the house when she steps through the door...
And so, the winter marches on...the good & bad, the warm & cold, and everything in-between.
Let it not be said that no good thing can come out of winter, but at the same time, let it be known that there are only 40 days until spring!!!
I vacillate on the answer to this question...
Some days I think to myself, "who needs winter?" and long for the tropical isle where you don't even need to own a winter coat, and where you could teach your children about snow the same way I teach mine about African Hippos- through the pages of a book!
Other days, however, I think how nice this seasonal variety really is! Experiencing tulips in the spring, fireflies in the summer, pumpkin pie in the fall, and fires on the hearth in winter lend that predictable rhythm to life that I would be lost without!
I have, therefore, decided that I have a love-hate relationship with winter! I love drinking tea by the fire and watching the snow fall from the warm side of the glass (am I beginning to sound old?), but unloading groceries while a bitter wind bites my back? Taking care of sick children in a cooped up house? Snowy puddles on my kitchen floor?
Not so much...
In the summer, I rarely wish time away, but when winter comes, I have to work a lot more with myself to remain cheerful, positive and patient.
Winter, for me, is about holding on and waiting for better things to come.
However, even if endurance is the underlying feeling, I still proceed to enjoy many of the things that this season has to offer that just don't happen any other time of the year...
Here are some examples:
Chambersburg Ice Fest... held the last weekend of January & enjoyed by our family nearly every year since the beginning. This year the weather was just warm enough for some of the sculptures to be undergoing the process of melting, but they were still unique and we could usually guess what they were!
A large snow-storm named Jonas... was great cause for excitement & just what we needed to take our minds off a virus running its course through four out of five of the family members. Wesley & the children did quite a bit of heavy-lifting over the weekend, but we were also blessed with good neighbors who helped us out with their snow-blowers!
(The fierce weather outside just made the inside all the more welcoming...especially as all need to run about fell away and our priorities were simplified: finish a 1,000-piece puzzle, lounge by the fire and make snow cream!!!)
Doughnut day... which was actually today, as it always falls the day before Ash Wednesday. My mom agreed to come over to help make a couple batches of these Baked Doughnuts and it was the best day we had in a long time! Not only was it snowing, making it extra pretty outside and extra cozy inside, but we counted our baking project for a day of school, and teacher & pupil alike enjoyed a break from the books! And let it just be said that there's nothing like the cheer a mother/grandma brings into the house when she steps through the door...
Let it not be said that no good thing can come out of winter, but at the same time, let it be known that there are only 40 days until spring!!!
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