From where our house sits upon a slight hill just outside the city limits of town, we have a good view of the town of Montrose nestled into the valley below us. As I look out the kitchen window this morning in this, the very early morning hours, the lights twinkle there. I remember the first time I saw it in the darkness back in January of this year, that it reminded me of a little kingdom. I don't know why, it just did. I had only seen one other place in this world that reminded me of such a thing and that was the beautiful New England village of Owego, New York. So to the good citizenry of those two places that are every bit of 2,000 miles apart from each other, keep the lights burning! I find the lights that shine from the city of Montrose this morning to be very comforting and safe. I'm not much of a fan of the dark.
This was a good weekend here in this part of God's world and with temperatures in the 60's there were lots of folks outside taking care of the last minute things that needed to be done before the weather changed towards the "winter side" of life. Mike and I were a part of that crowd and our tired and worn out bodies by day's end yesterday were a testament to the fact that there was plenty to do. We determined this weekend to be a perfect chance to mulch up all of the cottonwood leaves from the front yard and what we didn't grind up with the mower, we raked up by hand. About an hour and a half into the ordeal I said to Mike, "I think this would be a whole lot easier if I was 30 years younger!" He laughed and agreed to the same but we made it. The "to do" list was finished and not a moment too soon as the outdoor temperature began to drop rather quickly with the rapidly advancing storm system that is heading here, making its upcoming presence known.
Gotta admit to this, I just don't really care for winter all that much and to think that I've chosen to come to a place that has cold weather pretty much "24/7" when you compare it to life in wintertime Kansas, is perhaps a bit mind boggling to some. I'm not even sure where my disdain for that season of the year ever came from in the first place. Sometimes I think it was because I grew up on a farm in south central Kansas and the big 2-story farmhouse that we lived in had no heat upstairs. When it was time for bed, you just hustled yourself into your pajamas and dove under the covers, lying still enough for your own body heat to warm you. And oh by the way, once you got to that state of "freezing weather warmness" you didn't get back out of bed until it was time to in the morning. Whatever the reason may be, my favourite time of the year, at least weather-wise, has never been from now until about mid-March. Yet with the glad acceptance of the gift of good weather must come the tolerance of the "not so good". I guess it would only seem fair.
Once I wrote in a blog post about suffering from seasonal depression, the kind that strikes when the winter months arrive. It's the kind of ailment that rears it's "ugly head" when the daylight hours lessen in their duration, the temperature falls below freezing and we find ourselves "house bound" for days at a time. You know, admitting that from time to time a person gets depressed was kind of a risky thing to do. I mean, what would people think of me if I said that to them? Yet I did and it was a blog post that sent many emails my way, all of them from people who said the same thing happens to them. Shoot, I wasn't alone here. I only thought I was. In our misery and through the exchange of those emails, we all ended up sharing some ideas that had helped each of us to cope with it. From lighting scented candles to provide aromatherapy, keeping lamps on in various rooms of the house, to finding a new indoor hobby to keep our minds occupied each of us were able to fend off seasonal depression a little easier. My own personal favourite was waiting each day for the arrival of seed catalogues in the mail in order to sit down to dream of what my spring and summer garden would look like. Hey, we do whatever it takes to make it friends, whatever it should take.
An hour has passed since I awoke and began typing this blog post and hey, guess what? It's still dark outside and with good reason. It's 5:30 and the very sanest of people are still in bed asleep. It's time for me to get a "move on", pack my things in the car and head to school. I'm very fortunate that even with the approaching snowy weather, I have a straight shot, just ten miles up the road to Olathe each morning. I'll climb the slight rise at Menoken Hill and then it's just a matter of getting in line with all of the other "ants" as they travel to and from work. I may not like this winter stuff but I am not afraid of it either. You have to do what you have to do.
Have a great day everyone out there and be safe, well and warm in everything that happens to you this day. Stay healthy, for crying out loud and don't be burning the candle at both ends like I have done sometimes. Only saying so because I care about each of you and want only the best of this life to come your way. Friends and family back in Reno and Sedgwick Counties of Kansas, we shall see you in just 24 sleeps more when we return to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday with you all. There are many people living here who choose to never leave the valley and cross over the passes from November to April. There's a 99.9 percent chance that I will never be one of them. With all due respect to Monarch Pass and the winter weather, I am way more determined to make it back to Kansas from time to time than I would ever be afraid of the journey. Love you guys all~best wishes for a wonderful Monday. This is the 4th day of November in 2013. 44 years ago today, it was the day for my older sister Janice to be called back to her Heavenly home. As for me, I'm going to call it a great day to be alive in and I rejoice and give thanks to be able to say that.
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