Sometimes these cold, dark days are a good thing.
It’s heavy overcast today. Dylan crunches on pistachios, and after explaining to me the colors of Saturn, goes on to tell me how a snails home is in its shell. I love his random thoughts. I know exactly where he gets it from too. I have a million random thoughts swimming through my mind every day, each one of them fighting for their chance to be heard, to come forth, to be the ‘thought’ of the day that I might, time permitting, do something productive with.
I can’t believe it’s already mid December. Although it’s been unseasonably warm, today is the kind of day I remember December being as a child. Dark, freezing cold, overcast as light snow decorates the ground.
It goes right through me.
Sometimes I like it though. As much as I long for the warm blissful days of summer, I need this. I need this because it brings me to here, to sit and write and work on my photography instead of out running the trail or wandering around outside collecting all of natures beautiful little treasures as Dylan stoops down drawing animal tracks in the gravel path below out feet.
We all need days like this. We all need days to stop us or at least slow us down from always being on the go. Yet here in Illinois, we don’t just get ‘days’ like this, we get months. Four solid months of cold and unfortunately more gloomy days then sunny. This is just the start of it.
As the thought of moving to a warmer climate crosses my mind for ‘in the future’ there are more reasons than one we stay here now, at this point in our lives. So as much as I dread fighting the cold dark days ahead, I have truly learned to embrace them. The dark cold months ahead are an open invitation (in my opinion) to work harder, smarter…to just be more productive. It’s a time for me to write more and focus more on my photography. It’s a time to work on house projects that I’ve longed to do all summer yet the glorious blue skies and hot sun always won, taking us far away from the piles of papers, the walls I wanted to paint, or keeping on top of decluttering.
So for anyone who feels the cold winter air settling in, biting at their skin, and doesn’t long to be outside during the coldest, wettest of these days, use these dark days to cross things off your mile long to do list. That way when spring finally breaks and the sun peeks out strong you will have the time, peace of mind and clarity to get out and have the sun warm your shoulders once again.
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