I have another confession to make.
And you really must keep this to yourself because what I'm about to tell you would be considered heresy in these here parts.
See, I love winter.
This is a VERY unpopular opinion to have in central Illinois. It would be like walking into Hillary Clinton's campaign headquarters and yelling "Georga Dubya rocks!"
But I can't help it. I love winter.
I love the snow. I love drinking hot cocoa and hot coffee while the wind howls and the snow swirls outside. I love having our whole family contained at home on a snowy winter night. I love the challenge of finding things to do inside for days on end; although, the older I get, the more of a homebody I become and I see it as less of a challenge with each passing year. I love the comaraderie that comes from sharing "tales of survival" with our neighbors after we've all made it through the most recent snow storm. I love reading The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder every year since I was in the fourth grade. I love looking out my back window and seeing 5 or 6 neighbor kids trudging through our yard on their way to our back hill to sled. I love how they look like multi-colored, walking marshmallows in their snow suits, mittens, hats, and scarves. I love that I no longer have to bundle my kids up for them to go outside in the winter. I love the pure silence that encompasses the world in the early morning hours after a night of snowfall. I love opening my pantry and freezer and seeing that we are well stocked and ready for whatever the weather may bring.
I love winter, and sometimes I think I don't want it to end.
But then one day, in late February or early March, I walk outside and there is a subtle difference in the air. The wind is still blowing, but it doesn't bite my cheeks. There is a softness to the air that wasn't there the day before. Maybe I'll spot a lone tulip that has poked its head up and is waiting patiently in the snow for its day to shine. There is something in the air that is telling us that our winter efforts will be rewarded with sunshine and warm breezes. There is something that is telling us to be patient, that it is just around the corner - the renewal we call spring. And then I realize that I am, after all, ready for winter to end.
And I will have to make yet another confession, though this one is not so controversial.
I love spring.
1 comment:
I am so jealous. Your descriptive writing of winter makes it sound sooo wonderful. I think I would like it more if got some of that fabulous snow. You see for some strange reason I absolutely love snow. However, down here in Tennessee we are lucky if it even bothers to snow. If by some chance it does get cold enough to snow, it usually just melts right into the ground. This is because the ground doesn't a chance to get cold enough for the snow to stick. We usually just get a nasty cold rain......it does sound heavenly though!
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