Siggggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhh--January has just never been my favorite time of year.
Cold, dreary weather, packing away the holiday glitz, and those stupid New Year's resolution discussions to remind you of all the things you're not doing up to snuff. Seriously, for me I look forward to Valentine's Day starting on January 2nd--visions of the pink and red hearts, roses, and foil covered chocolates help me ward off the blech of winter.
I don't get depressed but I do definitely get (as my high school French teacher taught me) comme ci comme ca which loosely translates as so-so.
It's like having lukewarm soup in your mouth, an ambivalent occasion.
And, then an ice storm comes along and a warming irony sets in.
This is what our neighborhood looked like at noon today. The kids were thrilled to get an "Ice-Day" off from school. It can hardly be called a snow day as my car was seriously covered with 1/2" of solid ice--kind of like these tree branches. That's what happens when it snows 4 inches, then sleet and freezing rains falls for 2 hours, then RAIN falls for about 4 hours, followed then by another 4 inches of snow.
Breathtakingly beautiful but... precarious.
Precarious because
tree branches bend and break
power lines can snap
road conditions are horrendous
oh...and the kids are home from school and stuck inside for 48 hours
I'd decided early on in the icy snow storm that the kids would be productive beyond advancing to the next level of a game on the X-Box. Sean has merit badges to finish, Chloe has art projects to work on, and Brad is fulfilling his Faith in God Award. I'm happy to say, the tv was barely glanced at yesterday--only an hour of video games & taking in American Idol on dvr.
Sean can now proficiently tell you what the United Nations and WHO are (thank you Citizen of the Nation merit badge), Chloe's handmade Valentine's are finished and Brad's efforts warmed the family's hearts with a simply profound (an oxymoron I know) poem he wrote. To fulfill the Faith in God requirements and also receive the religious square knot on his Boy Scout uniform, Brad had to write a story, poem or play about a Gospel principle or about our Heavenly Father's creations.
On a blustery "ice-day" off from school, my sweet 10 year old son sat alone at the dining room table.
He looked out at the backyard ^ and this is what he wrote:
God gave us...
God gave us light
God gave us families
God gave us bodies
God gave us plants
God gave us the Moon
God gave us Earth
God gave us life
God gave us his only begotten Son
But...
"for of him unto much is given, much is required" (D&C 82:3)
In one draft, written in red pen in less than 10 minutes. And my son's love on an "ice-day" from school had warmed away any winter blues that the
comme ci comme ca moments of January could send my way.
An ice storm came to warm my winter spirits. It came with a poem. It came with watching the boys at the park today. If you look closely you can see both of them, puffy coats and all, up there ^ on the playground structure. It came in watching neighborly acts of snow shoveling service. It came in watching community clean up crews remove tree limbs from the roads. It came from having quiet time with my camera and the beauty of God's creation. All that and sewing fresh pineapples (sneak peeks coming soon) all day are just some of what made our
inclement weather oh so beautiful today :)
Enjoy your season. Stay warm!
~eva
Ps. Rob called me from work yesterday as he was leaving to brave the 25 mile drive home from work. Should he just stay at the hotel all night? Or should he drive with extreme caution and be home with us just in case the power went out? We opted for his driving home. Then, the kids and I gathered in family prayer asking for his safe arrival. He called me about 25 minutes later to tell me he was almost home and did I need anything at the store. Nope, just for you to come home safely I told him and we prayed for you by the way. And then in a panicky voice I heard Rob say wait wait wait Eva just a minute and then what sounded like his phone dropping and then just total silence. It was one of those slow-motion moments of surrealism. I was relieved I didn't hear any crashing sounds. He comes back to the phone about30 seconds later and says to me that was crazy...are YOU okay?!! Of course, I'm okay--I'm not the one in the car. Now hang up the cell phone and get home ASAP! Once Rob got here, he told me his car had spun 180 degrees on the ice and into the lane of oncoming traffic. Thank goodness there were no cars coming toward him. Thank goodness for prayer. Thank goodness he arrived safely no damage to him or the car.
Note to self and to you dear readers---cell phone usage while driving in a snow storm is a very, very bad idea!
