winter willow

There has been a shift in the seasons here. I can very minutely feel Winter start to loosen its hold when I stand outside on the iciest winter mornings, as the season starts to give in, ever so slightly. It's as though when Winter becomes her strongest, her willpower for ice and cold starts weakening, giving in as she readies herself for the warm embrace of Spring.

Our bodies are becoming more energized inside houses, as the morning sun pours through our Eastern facing windows. It's almost torture as we try to remain still and calm inside, not wanting to spin through our day's allotment of entertainments all in one rush. The kids and I are finding a lot to do.. puzzles, magnets, stickers, books, paints, crayons, scissors, threads, cleaning, vacuuming, dusting, laundry, dishes, cooking, eating, snacking, changing, brushing hair, brushing teeth, chasing, dinosaurs, animals, puppets, race tracks, cars, train tracks, towers, mess making, organizing, songs, dancing, writing, jumping, pirating, doll houses, movies, tv shows, electronics, memory games. The list might be longer if I gave it more thought. Every little task seems to take an important spot in our schedule as we draw out our time, spacing our minutes, allotting slots for play and slots for seriousness and time outs. There is a lot to do if you pace yourself.

We are tired of pacing ourselves. We need the freedom of green in the summertime. Of adirondack chairs with fluffy pillows and the buzz of bees drawing themselves up into the pollen filled flowers of a garden. We are craving the warm yellow that can currently only be found in the color of that cute house surrounded by snow in the picture above. For now, we feel like the willow; shrouded in ice from the previous night's fog, bending and swaying slowly as possible to not dust ourselves off too quickly, for fear of exposing our excitement of Summer too soon. Spring is getting nearer. Just a few more weeks and the snow will be turning into giant puddles, begging for the ripples that accompany little bright yellow boots.