Winter Solstice

I like these cold, gray winter days. Days like these let you savor a bad mood.
~Bill Watterson

My beloved friend and partner in crime with Virtual Dinner Partner is sleeping tonight on the floor of the Denver airport. A massive snow storm blanketed Colorado with two feet of snow last night. The airport grounded the planes. People are stranded. She has been there since this morning trying to return to New England for a Christmas visit with family and friends. It is the longest night of the year and I am sure it will feel that way to her as the hours pass.

It is the solstice. I always seem to experience winter solstice as a truly welcomed turning point. In my mind we have bottomed out... it is the darkest time of the year and I feel like I can't stand much more night time at five pm.

The truth is I will have to withstand several more weeks of early dark evenings and late sunrise. Also, the cold raw weather will be here for several months. It hasn't hit New England with a vengence this year. I have yet to see a single flake of snow but I am sure it will eventually come.

It's not the snow that gets me, it's the short days, the slant of light, the gray skies. I am sure I must have bear somewhere in my gene pool. Snoozing on the sofa at 7 pm with TV roaring in the background becomes something I worry about. Crawling under the covers with a trashy novel becomes something I look forward to.

Strangely enough, I start to feel the change in season fairly early in the cycle. By Groundhog's day (Candlemas, Imbolc or the half equinox) I can feel my energy returning. The sap starts to rise again. The bear is awakening, getting ready to shake off sleep and lumber out into the world. I feel great optimism knowing this will happen soon. Lux lights will return to the closet and I will want to ride my bicycle and stay active through the day.

Blessings to my friend on the airport floor. This too shall pass.


Spring passes and one remembers one's innocence. Summer passes and one remembers one's exuberance. Autumn passes and one remembers one's reverence. Winter passes and one remembers one's perseverance.
~Yoko Ono