Winter IMpression

It's the dead of winter. It's January. It's cold. The holidays are over. The diets have started (and stopped). There are no fields to plow, no flowers to smell, no walks in the woods without coats. Even the cars are complaining, covered in salt, shivering their motors off. All the leaves are gone and the ground is white and everyone is dreaming of Summer. Kids are tracking in muddy wet snow, the animals are hunkered down, and old folks are bored in their apartments. Face it, it's just downright depressing....or is it?

If you choose to look at winter this way, it's going to be a loooooong time before you're happy again. I know some people who are prone to depression this time of year. It's mostly a chemical thing; the serotonin (feel good) chemicals are low, not enough sunlight for our brains to function, and inactivity settles in. It's enough to drive some people crazy. Unless there is a medical thing going on, I think most of these attitudes can be fixed with a new perspective on winter.

As much as I don't care for any of the above, winter allows me the one thing summer does not. Slowing down!! I don't cuddle up in my chair with my Bible on a beautiful warm summer day. I don't spend hours studying something in my kitchen while the smell of hot chili fills the air. I don't take naps in the summer, but I sure enjoy them this time of year. It's a time to relax a bit, slow down, renew your mind and maybe do some organizing. It's a time to clean closets and plan family game nights. It's a time to look around and realize just how beautiful winter can be.

The other night when the moon was so bright you could see tree shadows in the snow, Steve called me into the kitchen. He walked me over to the french doors and showed me something beautiful. Our deck was covered in light snow, and the moonlight was reflecting in it, making it look like diamonds and glitter. We then looked out other windows and found that all of the snow was glittering, its blue cast giving it an ethereal look. The bare trees surrounding our yard looked like silver. I guess I know why greeting cards use glitter and silver in winter scenes. It's really there. God makes all things good....even the dead of winter, if you choose to see it this way.

Just so you don't think I'm delusional, I do think that black crusty snow is disgusting. Our propane bill is enormous (even keeping our house a cool 64), and I miss seeing my flowers. I yearn to stick my toes in a crisp blue lake and get my hands dirty in the garden. I will really appreciate all of those things once they get here again. It's a God thing, probably.

If you really can't enjoy anything about winter, do what I did years ago. Replace your light bulbs in one room with major wattage, hang a huge sun in the room, put on some summery music, haul out some lawn chairs, and sip pineapple juice with little umbrellas. Don't forget the sunscreen.

Take heart, winter is almost over. Try to let it IMpress you, rather than DEpress you!