I've been stalling a bit trying to figure out what to write; hence no January entry. This winter has felt very strange. In New York, we've had freezing days in a row, followed by an unseasonably warm day; then Jack Frost levels out a bit, only to reproduce the same cycle over again. Work days have felt longer and my free days have felt unfocused. However, if I take a step back and think about the winter months as a whole, there have been a number of bright spots. Plus, loads of fun. Why do exhaustion and frustration carry more weight than joy and laughter? Who do I need to get coffee with to change that?
I've been around kids more lately, which has wonderfully stimulated my imagination. Parents are still heroes to me. I honestly don't know how ya'll do it every day. Whether a stay-at-home parent or a working mom, both take an enormous amount of perseverance and I tip my hat to ya'll. If you're reading this and multi-tasking with keeping a child alive as one of those tasks, be encouraged by this. You're doing a lot AND surviving. Good job!
Okay back to imagination. If I were to pick a mammal to describe my winter months self, i'd be a cutie pie lil' turtle, creeping along to my destination; definitely stopping along the way to hide under my shell and nap along the way. I'm committing to letting that be enough right now. And if I truly have my eyes open to the way the world talks, there are incredible amounts of fun and encouragement swirling around me, trying to land somewhere. You better believe I want to be that somewhere...and I have been. I won't list all the ways, but I need to write this to remind myself that it's happening; despite my tendency to feel dull and stuck. There's a Bible verse in Isaiah that says, "He will give the weary strength." Whether you believe in God or not, this is a need a lot of people I talk to have right now. The world seems to be moving so rapidly, exhaustion is becoming more of a normalcy. That's not what I want for myself or for you. I'm praying for strength for a weary world and for more bright spots. Thank you for reading this. I'll end with a little gratitude practice: I'm thankful to have a new day to write, walk, eat, laugh, hug and encourage, be loved and to love, etc. Talk to you in March - I'll have a fun update for you, I promise! Love, SS