Finding Beauty in Gray

It warmed up a little bit today and, as is often the case in Minnesota, we paid for warmer temperatures with gray skies. The morning was foggy and everything seemed surreal and I wanted to wander through it but instead appreciated it from within the dry and cozy confines of my home. I did step outside for a moment to capture this picture of the tree in our neighbors' back yard because even though the day was dreary and the tree was bare, I was still drawn to it. I spent half the day writing, putting words on the page while listening to music, which was perfect. The gray skies fit the mood of what I was writing and before I knew it I had written roughly 4500 words. There is beauty in that too because words don't always come so easily.

I believe this is my 21st winter in Minnesota and, honestly, they are getting more difficult to endure for reasons I don't quite understand. Maybe as I get older, I just want to be able to leave my house without a lot of hassle.

It's looking like this winter is going to be a long winter and I am going to have to find ways to find the good in that. I'm going to need to stock up on hot chocolate and stuff for cookies and make sure that my warmest wool socks are in good repair. I hope I can focus on skis on a crisp white trail and time spent with friends next to a fire. The world will be in grayscale for months but pictures like the one I took today make me think that I just might be able to find the beauty in that too.

At the Theater

We were at the theater tonight - the junior high theater, that is. I learned a few things:

1. Moliere is funny. 2. I like to see kids unafraid to play a different gender and have it seem natural. 3, My son is a ham. 4. My tailbone still hurts when I sit for long periods of time.

Many of the kids I have watched grow up were there tonight and I was struck by how much older they seem. Weren't they all just babies? Was it so long ago they were fighting over trikes? It seems so.

Thank you to the junior high for a splendid play. More than anything, I feel lucky to know such amazing kids.

Puzzled

Zeca and I worked on a puzzle while Miguel and Luisa watched the Super Bowl. It was an easy puzzle, one that we could finish in one night because she'll be leaving tomorrow to go to the Lake Country Land School for an overnight. She'll help with the animals and the farm and play in the deep snow. Tomorrow, she'll be far from the city. Tonight, she held Times Square in her hands.