Winter Idyll

 

It would seem that turning our dining room into a cozy sitting room was one of the best decisions we could have made this winter. We are just coming off of a brutally cold, extremely snowy few weeks which saw us spending great stretches of time around the fire. It has been just what I needed physically and mentally. 

Yesterday the temperature began to climb- we finally reached above freezing. The great drifts of snow are beginning to melt and compact, looking less like a winter wonderland and more dirty and sludgy and like the end of the season. As much as I was excited about each snowflake, I now am equally excited to see the sunshine. I look forward to spring rains that will come and wash away the last traces of winter leaving fresh green and buds of life in their wake.

I have needed this long idyll winter to fortify myself. I find I need more quiet in a world that is increasingly loud and chaotic. I read this quote somewhere recently "If it costs you your peace, it's too expensive." And there have been an endless number of things in the last year that have cost me my peace. In fact there have been days when I have felt like regaining my peace was the hardest battle I've ever fought. And I have fought some battles.

(Cats lounging in the sunshine on the dining room table like it's their birthright.)

There are a lot of things we can't control in life, things we waste our energy trying to control and then there are the things that are in our control and that can make our lives infinitely better by choosing one thing over another. Those are things I have been thinking about. If it's not serving us, and we can let it go, why wouldn't we?

So this week, I am soaking up the sunshine, harnessing a bit of that energy and putting it to use. I've finally taken the rest of the Christmas decorations down, I'm dusting forgotten corners, finishing up things I've begun and taking care of some tasks that I have been putting off for ages, all with as many breaks in between as desired and no strict timelines for accomplishing these goals.

Right now I am choosing to limit the amount of noise I take in, which in turn limits the amount of anxiety I feel. If I'm taking care of myself, I have more energy to put into the people and things that I love.

Maybe the change of seasons makes me more introspective than usual. I am so hopeful for this next season. Tempered hope. Though I know that no matter what happens next, I'm going to keep looking for the small joys in my days and feeling grateful for what I have. I'm not spending much time on Instagram these days so I'm looking forward to recording those little moments here.