I love Winter! But then again, maybe I don’t like Winter. It’s complicated. I find joy in big fluffy snowflakes falling softly outside. I love standing in the driveway looking like an idiot as I try to catch them on my tongue, a two-year-old has more success than I do. Don’t even ask me to try and catch a grape in my mouth midair- it’s not going to go well. I love hearing the giggles around me as my children make a snowman family. Matter of fact one year my daughter just HAD to build a snowman that looked like our neighbor, complete with beautiful rocks for his eyes, and shaggy grass for his hair. “My friend Jimmy,” as she lovingly named him, was a special part of the family too!
She will be a sculpture one day, I’m sure of it.
I love the adrenaline rush as I speed down a hill in my sled, snow flying up in my face, fingers holding on for dear life, hoping no one jumps out in front of me…. the invigorating ride may only last 5 feet, (down the deck steps) but every inch gained is a win! I love going for a sunny day drive, passing the open fields blanketed in snow that sparkles like a bottle of silver glitter. I love the snow. But then the complicated part comes in. Cold. I do not like cold. I do not like cold in a box, I do not like cold with a fox, I do not like cold in a house, or with a mouse. I DO NOT LIKE COLD. It gets in between me wearing my favorite gold sparkly high heels to church, it blocks me from sitting in my backyard relaxing in the sun, it freezes my beloved Bear Lake into ice! I can’t swim in ice! Instead of wearing a cute sundress, I wear 6 base layers before I put on regular clothes, just to keep from getting frost bite! I could go on and on about my disdain for cold, but you get the point. Then something happened. I found JOY. I found PEACE with it being cold. I found Stephens Chocolate Raspberry Cocoa! You may be thinking to yourself, “Whoa. Twist!” but seriously, it really is! I found that those little things, make all the difference. I don’t think of a freezing cold day as a loss! There are SO many good things that happen on cold days!
We love Curious George at our house, I constantly find myself sitting on the couch laughing to myself at the little one-liners strategically placed throughout an episode. There are two characters, Mr. & Mrs. Renkins, they know everything, and do everything. A wealth of knowledge they are. Here’s their advice (even though it’s an old saying, it just sounds better coming from them). “Make hay while the sun shines.” I think of this on those sunny but frigid cold days. To me, it means take advantage of the chance you have to do something good with the excellent conditions you have been given! Seize your moment! (Catch that Coco reference?) I MUST love cold days. I’m realizing that Idaho knows two degrees in winter time. Cold and Super Cold. Not much in-between. So far, I think the high has been 27 the past month, it’s not uncommon for our thermometer to stop saying what degree it is other than ‘cold.’ Thankfully, cold and I are working out our differences, and we are slowly starting to get along again, no mediation will be needed thankfully, that would get expensive!
Cold is teaching me to love my life regardless of how it’s interfering. I take a cold day as an opportunity to get a months’ worth of ironing done, and watch my go-to movie, You’ve Got Mail. I take these days to play with my munchkins (yes, down on the floor) and make bigger messes than they do. I’m learning to take the time to teach them, and let them work alongside me, without correcting the imperfections. I’m learning that cold days are the perfect excuse for a cup of cocoa, a cozy blanket, and a snuggle party with the littles. So while my face may be totally broken out for the next 3 or 4 months from an overdose of hot chocolate, I am happily learning to LOVE cold. But when Summer arrives, cold is going to have to go on vacation!
So here I am, giving you encouragement, sending my love, and hoping you know you have support, and you ARE loved. Find joy in those things that hold you back. Find Peace even in the Cold.
-Mikenna
Beauty In The Cold
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