winter.....we are over you
It is March 4 and we have umpteen inches of snow on the ground in Iowa. I say "umpteen" because with the wind its hard to tell how much is there but it is a lot. More than most years, in fact. This morning it was minus 7 degrees.....and I couldn't find Josiah's boots before school. I spent about 10 minutes and worked up a (hot flash) sweat trying to find the snow pants and boots and gloves and hats and facemasks after the weekend....only to learn from my children that all the recesses were inside today because it was too cold to play outside. I am grateful that they didn't have to play outside today.....everyone is sneezing and has a scratchy throat because winter is wearing on us......the cold, the wind, the wet snow tracking everywhere.....we are growing weary of the winter in Iowa.
I tried to have 2 separate conversations with strangers today as I was out and about and both were like this...."It's just so cold" "yeah, I don't think I can take much more of this".....we have run out of casual small talk about the weather in Iowa.....things are getting serious.
Many people are depressed with Seasonal Affective Disorder, and even if some of us have not been diagnosed we all have it. This season is negatively affecting us because we long for Spring. We long for sunshine and blue skies and birds singing and snow melting. We want to walk outside and not freeze to death.
Because I believe in viewing my glass half-full I will offer this. Umpteen inches of snow on March 4 with negative 27 degree wind chill factor is a platform to practice HOPE. Longing for the warm sun on my face and birdsong and spring flowers breaking through the wet earth are symptoms of HOPE. Hope means that every season in Iowa lasts about 3-4 months and then moves on and a new season starts......and that is why I live here. Hope is believing that this won't last forever and something fresh is coming and it will be wonderful. 3 months into Spring I will definitely be complaining about cold, wet, rainy days and I will long for summer....and eventually that will come too.
Let's not give up hope people. Let's encourage each other and give lots of hugs and remind each other that this season won't last forever.....literally and metaphorically. If you are in a hard season, please have hope that it will pass. If you are in a wonderful season be grateful and don't be surprised when the season changes and is less wonderful....we are cycling through them all together.
We keep recreational toilet plungers here. Don't ask. The kids wore me down at Walmart one day and wanted them and so I made them promise they would never go in an actual toilet and then I bought them. I think Jeremiah bought one first and then one of the little kids wanted one too. Today Josiah hauled them out in a mood of creative play. He had been moving through the house creatively for about an hour and a half after school. Creatively is code for making a mess everywhere, by the way. He started flipping the toilet plungers in the kitchen onto the hardwood floor and we cheered when he landed one. The big boys came home from school and wanted to try it and the noise level went up for a minute. Eventually Isaac was convinced to try to suction cup his to his belly....but he would not let me take a picture of it or post it as a video on facebook.......I'll just leave you all with the visual and a smile and a reminder to have hope.
Do the silly things. Take time to breathe slowly in and out. Be forgiving when you snap at each other and don't always cope so well......we are all just working our way through the season and waiting with eager expectation for what is coming next.
I tried to have 2 separate conversations with strangers today as I was out and about and both were like this...."It's just so cold" "yeah, I don't think I can take much more of this".....we have run out of casual small talk about the weather in Iowa.....things are getting serious.
Many people are depressed with Seasonal Affective Disorder, and even if some of us have not been diagnosed we all have it. This season is negatively affecting us because we long for Spring. We long for sunshine and blue skies and birds singing and snow melting. We want to walk outside and not freeze to death.
Because I believe in viewing my glass half-full I will offer this. Umpteen inches of snow on March 4 with negative 27 degree wind chill factor is a platform to practice HOPE. Longing for the warm sun on my face and birdsong and spring flowers breaking through the wet earth are symptoms of HOPE. Hope means that every season in Iowa lasts about 3-4 months and then moves on and a new season starts......and that is why I live here. Hope is believing that this won't last forever and something fresh is coming and it will be wonderful. 3 months into Spring I will definitely be complaining about cold, wet, rainy days and I will long for summer....and eventually that will come too.
Let's not give up hope people. Let's encourage each other and give lots of hugs and remind each other that this season won't last forever.....literally and metaphorically. If you are in a hard season, please have hope that it will pass. If you are in a wonderful season be grateful and don't be surprised when the season changes and is less wonderful....we are cycling through them all together.
We keep recreational toilet plungers here. Don't ask. The kids wore me down at Walmart one day and wanted them and so I made them promise they would never go in an actual toilet and then I bought them. I think Jeremiah bought one first and then one of the little kids wanted one too. Today Josiah hauled them out in a mood of creative play. He had been moving through the house creatively for about an hour and a half after school. Creatively is code for making a mess everywhere, by the way. He started flipping the toilet plungers in the kitchen onto the hardwood floor and we cheered when he landed one. The big boys came home from school and wanted to try it and the noise level went up for a minute. Eventually Isaac was convinced to try to suction cup his to his belly....but he would not let me take a picture of it or post it as a video on facebook.......I'll just leave you all with the visual and a smile and a reminder to have hope.
Do the silly things. Take time to breathe slowly in and out. Be forgiving when you snap at each other and don't always cope so well......we are all just working our way through the season and waiting with eager expectation for what is coming next.
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