giving thanks for my life, physical work, and lovely weather

Sat., Jan 7:  I give thanks for my life.  We went to a memorial service for a friend who chose to leave this world at the young age of 28.  The outpouring of love for this person was tremendous, and he left behind a family and huge crew of friends who will miss his presence so very much.  Life is such a gift, to be treasured, and though the road can be insufferable at times, we must always remember that others suffer too, that no matter how great our suffering, someone has it worse, and that 'this too shall pass'.  Count your blessings, and keep moving forward.

me & my sweeties in our backyard.  what you see is only a small fraction of the wood around here.  good exercise.  :) 

Sun., Jan 8:  I give thanks for physical work and a healthy body.  I stacked a ton of wood on the front porch today (all of which my darling husband first cut and stacked at the back and side of the house) - which was a good thing apparently, since we got snow yesterday.  I love work like this; it can be very meditative for me.  I am so happy to have a body that works well, with no major aches and pains, in cooperation with my mind and spirit.  During my last pregnancy I was so incredibly sore for a good number of months that I really understood how difficult it must be to live with chronic pain that never goes away.  At least I knew, or hoped, that mine would subside once this lovely little being finally emerged into the world.  I cannot imagine suffering like that with no end in sight.  I will offer the insight, however, that meditation helped me tremendously with the pain, on the days I had the wherewithal to make myself sit mindfully still for at least ten minutes. 

Mon., Jan 9:  I give thanks for the weather!  The snow was lovely, and it's nice to have a change of seasons, change of scenery, change of ambience, and yes, even a change of temperature.  It's so silly when we complain about the weather, and some people always seem to want it to be something other than what it is.  I love it all.  True, I'm a bit wimpy about the cold in wintertime, however, I have my awesome wood stove and that makes it so much more enjoyable.  I love keeping the fire burnin'.

for solstice: snow, glorious snow

what glorious fun, to get dumped on.  we really got a good heaping of snow, and we had a blast with it.  it's a bit surreal, days later, to still see these piles of white stuff obstructing paths & parking spots, and turned into sculpture, all around the neighborhood.  i think that's what i like the most, the temporary transformation of our surroundings.  it was so beautiful, snowing non-stop for almost two full days; and you just stay inside, mostly, and watch it fall.   it inspires awe & stillness. we had tea and hot chocolate, baked & ate special treats, sat by the fire, and made paper snowflakes.  to honor solstice and the spirit of renewal, we did some cleaning & began a decor overhaul - clearing the tops of shelves and the mantle and arranging our treasures and trinkets again, and changing up the wall art (especially because we just got our beautiful new canvases!).

then when the snows stops coming down, it calls for our action, in one way or another, whether it's work or silliness.  on sunday we shoveled, alot, so atom could venture out for his mandatory midst-of-snowstorm-excursion.  then, we got out with the kids on monday and played, running around, having snowball fights, making snow angels and a family of snow people.