A New Day – 32 – Back around
A lot of us are feeling the strain of winter right now, the pull on our backs and shoulders from shoveling, the frustration born from getting stuck, being late, missing appointments, and not being able to get out of the house. We’re like so done with winter. How many of you have gotten stuck more than a handful of times? Gotten in a weather-related accident (hopefully no one was hurt)? Had to reschedule more than one appointment, more than once? Or live in a coma of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) and depression?
Then all over the country affected by Polar/Arctic Vortex we had a bit of a warm up over a week ago (Day 28 – A Great Find). It was really nice. In the Midwest in places we had temperatures nearing 50 degrees! I knew the snow wouldn’t melt in its entirety but I was happy to see it shrink. We even had rain, great in the spring not so great when things are still frozen but still it was warm. That was until…it came back.
So much for melting
Just when I thought walking my dog in the park had gotten a little bit easier with some of the snow gone it came back. And so did the below freezing and below zero temperatures. The don’t think I’m gonna run tonight temperatures, the don’t think twice, I’m not coming out temperatures, the this cut this walk short temperatures, the…okay you get it. I think we can all agree this was a major set back. Then a family member had the nerve to remind me we’ve still got March to worry about (you know who you are!). I was trying to be optimistic about March, about spring, about melting and warming and less layers.
Not only are we blanketed in snow but the outdoor world is suffering under yet another wave of cold.
I photographed this English Ivy earlier this winter but now it looks like the prolonged cold is taking its toll.
Seeing this English Ivy again (from Day 2) was a bit disheartening as it appears to be suffering from the elements now. Whereas in the previous photo from Day 2 it looked strong and full of its evergreen life. Looking out into the backyard I see that my Irises next to the garage – whose leaves have been poking above the snow which is hardly deep there – are no longer evident.
It reminds me a lot of how we’re all feeling, like we’re barely making it. But going forward I have to go back to the beginning of the year. That was a time when so many of us were positive, excited to have welcomed another year into our lives and proudly spouting off about our resolutions. And yet we knew we had a lot of winter left even if we didn’t know just how bad it was going to be.
And so I have to take the upper road here and say, at least now we really can see the sun on the horizon. In two days we’ll be in March, a positive sign in and of itself. Before we leave winter behind and pat ourselves on the back for surviving it let’s go back around to the beginning in our minds and reflect on what this winter hibernation has done for us.
This winter for me has introduced me to a lot of new blogging colleagues as well as the concept of a project 365. It’s provided me with a lot of great snowy, wintry pictures. How about all that shoveling? Well that’s exercise I wouldn’t have gotten had I not had to shovel so much. This winter I added a lot of new goals to my list, including 6,000 words a week, which I have made by the way; even when I’m not on time I quickly make up for it and tend to forget about the words here which means I write more than 6,000 a week easily. I have more website views and visitors than ever before and built new confidence in this. I’m more comfortable blogging and have created some great pieces I’m excited to submit somewhere. Writing 6,000 words a week has helped me to embrace the reality that I’m working on a novel (yup, more on that on Friday).
Coming back around I embrace what’s been really positive; this cold, freezing cold downtown has helped to prepare me. But coming back around also gives me a chance to re-engage with what hasn’t worked and what I haven’t kept up with. If there’s one thing I hate about New Year’s resolutions it’s how easy they tend to slip away as the year progresses. For starters I have been so bad about sending in any submission. I didn’t get back on that horse, I left the horse in the barn! I’ve got to schedule some poetry readings and continue my efforts to gain visibility. There’s a host of other goals I’m revisiting and maybe you should do the same. I think it’s a great opportunity to bring those things to the forefront or kick them to the curb all together and use the excitement for spring to rebuild and renew your excitement for your goals. Soon our projects are going to burst open and everything’s going to change. So let’s suck it up and prepare!
Cheers to re-engaging your goals!
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