the joy in winter

Yesterday we had the most beautiful snowfall. It snowed steadily all day long, pretty, sparkly, fluffy flakes. The grass that was so unnaturally showing was covered in a blanket of white. It was the kind of day that winter is all about.

And boy did I hear people complaining.

Complaining about the streets, the shoveling, the cold. A day that should have brought some sense of wonder brought a sense of whining to too many people. That makes me sad. We live in a part of the world that is fortunate enough to experience all four seasons. Yes – fortunate! And while many people who don’t enjoy the cold don’t have the means to live someplace where it’s warm all the time, that doesn’t mean they should spend their time overlooking the beauty in this season.

It’s a shame really. Winter has lots to offer. The joy of coming into a warm house and smelling comfort food cooking away. The treat of holding a warm cup of tea or cocoa or coffee – letting its warmth leak into your hands, feeling its heat rising against your face. The crisp smells in the air. The special hush of a world covered in snow. The feel of snowflakes on your eyelashes.

And then there’s the snow angels 🙂

It’s winter. And where we live, it’s supposed to snow. You can’t do anything to stop it, so instead of choosing to look at it negatively – look for the joy. It’s there, I promise.

girl scout cookies

I’m going to rant a bit. My middle child is a girl scout and has been since Kindergarten. There have been some changes in the girl scout organization in the recent year or two to consolidate scout regions. Our region has now been swallowed up by the Chicago Girl Scouts. Fine. I get it. Here’s what I don’t get… girl scout cookie sales that were previously in September are now in January.

Let’s think about that for a minute. We obviously live near Chicago. It’s cold here in January. So cold that people get all excited and take walks and do a bit of outdoor work when it’s 36 degrees. We have snow on the ground in January. This is not a new thing either – winter is always cold and snowy here in NW Indiana and the land of lake effect snow. September? September is beautiful. Sunny, still warm but not hot, people are still outside and active not all worried about New Year’s Resolutions and what they ate for Christmas. So in this part of the country it makes perfect sense to have young girls sell girl scout cookies in January right??

ARRRGGGHH!

So my daughter is trying to sell in the face of ‘trying to lose weight’ objections and ‘oh we still have cookies leftover from the holidays’ objections. My daughter is now walking around the neighborhood (escorted by me of course) when it’s literally freezing outside. AND since I’m the Cookie Mom I’m going to have to spend a day in my freezing garage sorting cookies and waiting for parents to come pick them up. This is such a great plan.

Yesterday afternoon the sun was shining, the sidewalks were clear and it was just above freezing. I told E that it was now or never for the neighborhood sales pitch. We’ve only got one week of sales left and this was truly the first decent weekend day we’ve had since sales started. (and that’s another thing – she can only sell out in the neighborhood on weekends because by the time people get home from work during the week it’s dark outside!) E did a great job. We only went to the houses we know really well to try and limit our time outside. And we were indeed invited into a handful of them to warm up. She didn’t get upset when she heard objections – I tried to prepare the troop well for them this year – she even converted at least one person by asking them if they’d like to donate their cookies to a local women’s shelter instead of having the cookies to eat. But she was so cold and her hands and cheeks were chapped and while she’s far closer to her goal than I expected, I don’t think she’s going to make it this year.

I’m dreading facing this troop of 8 and 9 year old girls. They have been super sellers, and I tried to lower their expectations this year, but there’s a lot of emphasis on goal setting and earning money for your troop so I’m afraid that I’m going to see 2 dozen very sad faces. I hope I’m wrong – I hope they understand that they are up against crappy odds this year.

Who the heck decided that JANUARY made a better time of year for cookie sales?!?!? Sigh…

Grace in cold things

I read something in a magazine this week about counting blessings. It wasn’t a full article, just a little sidebar but the author said when she’s having a hard time falling asleep she mentally walks through her day and thanks God for the small blessings. Really small, like having band aids on hand when her child skins his knee, being there to answer the phone when a friend called and needed to talk. She uses it as a meditation and a way to slow her mind down. I try to do the same thing and I’m a big believer that small blessings add up.

I’m participating in a Grace in Small Things challenge on this blog and what’s interesting about it is how many other participants are cheating a bit. They list things like – I got a new job! Well, sure there’s grace in that but it’s kind of big isn’t it?? I’ve tried to stay focused on small things but I know I’ve cheated sometimes too. So from now until the end of the year, I’m going to try and go back to the purpose of this weekly post. The small things in life that bring grace in so many ways.

Grace in Small Things #45: the baby it’s cold outside version

1. Watching a 5 year old catch snowflakes on his tongue.

2. How cozy it feels to walk into the house when it’s 10 degrees outside.

3. The twinkling of Christmas tree lights seen through the window.

4. A warm blanket and a hot cup of cocoa.

5. Flannel sheets.

Two weeks until Christmas!! I’m going to wrap gifts this weekend and if I’m lucky I won’t have to do anymore shopping and can spend the rest of this time enjoying the season!

it’s cold

When I boot up the computer each morning the first thing I do is check the weather. It’s -18 right now but with the wind chill it feels like -39. That’s cold.

School was cancelled yesterday because of the low temps. The kids were already scheduled to have today off for the end of semester ‘records day.’ That’s been cancelled too (not sure I understand why the teachers can’t go to work today, but I suppose it’s hard to end the semester when the high school kids haven’t finished finals). No school Monday for MLK Jr. Day. And now they’ve got 1/2 days on Tues & Wed to give the teachers time to do those end of semester records. It’s like a 2nd winter break! And it’s torture.

See, there’s all this beautiful snow outside but the kids can’t go out to play. Just running from the car into the Y hurts to breathe. And by the time I got them bundled up enough to limit exposed skin, they wouldn’t be able to move enough to bend over and pick up the sled. Let me tell you, there’s nothing like having three kids cooped up in the house together for days on end.

I’ve got to find something to do today that will get the wiggles out. We’ll definitely shoot some baskets and run around at the Y. Maybe a trip to a local ‘jump house’ – those warehouses filled with huge inflatable toys that they can climb & jump in. Maybe I’ll even brave the mall so they can use some of their Christmas gift cards. I need to surf the net to find an idea so they all sleep well and are on their best behavior tomorrow for Grandma & Grandpa. (my husband & I are heading to Chicago for a mini-getaway Saturday… I’ll write about that adventure next week)

It’s supposed to warm up to the single digits today – that’s 10 degrees warmer than yesterday. Maybe I can chase them outside this afternoon for a bit.

it takes intelligence

I don’t usually post more than once a day – but this story on the AP line needs to be repeated. It just goes to show that the triple dog dare still reigns…

Hammond boy licks light pole, gets stuck
HAMMOND, Ind. (AP) — In a scene straight out of the movie “A Christmas Story,” a 10-year-old Hammond boy got his tongue stuck to a metal light pole.

Police say the unidentified fourth-grader was able to tell them that a friend dared him to lick the pole Wednesday night. Temperatures in Hammond were around 10 degrees at the time.

By the time an ambulance arrived, the boy was able to yank his tongue off the frozen pole.

Police say ambulance personnel explained to the boy’s mother how to care for his bleeding tongue.

The 1983 movie is set in a fictional city based on Hammond, the hometown of author Jean Shepherd.

Oh the irony!