life on the fence: wintery weather

the ice is beautiful. should i feel guilty for wishing there was more of it? other parts of our state and the midwest got hit pretty bad. i feel for those who are struggling in it. we only had a light coating - just enough to produce unnecessary panic and hype for a little cold rain and less than .10". i admit that i was kind of looking forward to the office closing and spending a day at home. i was romanticized by the idea of losing power, lighting candles throughout the house, huddling by the fireplace, cooking over a fire, pulling my quilts out of the closet, and watching the ice glisten on the back porch. but, the warm front from the south kept temps right at or just above freezing, producing enough ice to make the sidewalks slick but little on the roadways.

through the course of the year, i forget how much i love winter. i love the twinkle lights that are up this time of year. i love the beauty of the snow falling. i love december for its holidays and parties and baked goods. i love the smell of our house when we have the fireplace going and the comfort of the heated blanket on our bed.

it's also reflective of how all of life is a balance, for just as i love the pure white snow fall, i hate the gray slushy mess it becomes once the cars have at it. though i love the warmth of our bed in the morning, i hate facing the inevitable chill that comes when i have to get out from under those covers and get ready for work. though i love the wrapped packages under the tree and hanging the ornaments i've collected over the years, i hate the crowded stores and having to tear the tree down and pack it away after christmas.

all of life is give and take. wherever there is beauty there is simultaneously ugliness. wherever there is joy and love, there is also pain and suffering. wherever there is hope and laughter, there is grieving and crying.

for everything there is a season.

"for everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven. a time to be born and a time to die. a time to plant and a time to harvest. a time to kill and a time to heal. a time to tear down and a time to build up. a time to cry and a time to laugh. a time to grieve and a time to dance. a time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones. a time to embrace and a time to turn away. a time to search and a time to quit searching. a time to keep and a time to throw away. a time to tear and a time to mend. a time to be quiet and a time to speak. a time to love and a time to hate. a time for war and a time for peace." - ecclesiastes 3:1-8