I don't know about you, but I've got a case of the winter blues. You know, that limp rag feeling. What's worse is, I don't exactly know why. Life is pretty great at the moment. School. Friends. Family. The dating life. In many ways my life is unfolding in ways that I could have only dreamed about. Yet, these last few days I have just been feeling a bit down.
I got to thinking, why? I came to a few tentative conclusions: Maybe it's the medication I'm taking right now that has more annoying side effects than I can count. Or the pressure of V-day lurking over our heads like a dark rain cloud. Maybe it's that I miss my sister/bestie more than words can say and waiting 17 months to give her a squeeze seems inconceivable. I just really want to call her at chat for hours about everything and nothing at all. Or find a new hole-in-the-wall with the help of Yelp. It could be the fact that after two winters in sunny Brazil, I once again have to deal with ice-cold fingers and this smoggy inversion air. Nasty.
Whatever the reason, all I know is, these blues can't last.
I chatted with my dad, as I usually do about these kinds of things, and he gave me some pretty great advice. First, he asked me when is the last time I have performed a meaningful act of service. You're right, Daddy-0.. It's been too long. Rest be assured, I'll be on the look out. Second, he encouraged me to spend some time thinking about the things I love to do and then do those things.
Well, today I did just that. And just in case you, too may have the blues, let me tell you what seems to lifting my spirits at a miraculous rate...
1. belting out the Friday Song with my brother before sending him off to middle school
2. sushi dinner with dad
3. steam shower
4. cool little brunch diner (yelp find) to celebrate a friend's birthday
5. much-needed car wash
6. afternoon trip to the park with my puppy Lucky
7. successful work meeting
8. after-school Swig run with the bro to hear about all the cute 8th grade girls
9. finally purchasing some groupon dates that have been on my mind for a while now
10. getting an early start on this weeks homework
11. trip to the Provo City temple open house
12. getting the boy to watch a sappy chick flick with me in honor of St. Valentine
Yep, just what the doctor ordered. A day filled with the people and activities that I love the very most. But one of the best moments of my really good day was actually with Lucky. The poor creature has been in a state of what we call "dog depression" lately because we have been depriving him of his beloved walks do to the severe cold. So he sits inside all day, every day just looking out the window. The minute I got his leash he started jumping for joy. We went outside and he just couldn't handle his excitement to be out in the fresh air. (as smoggy as it was) We made our way up an iced hill and hung out at the playground for a while. As I watched Lucky play in the snow chasing birds to and fro I thought about how beautiful and symbolic life really is.
I think Charlotte it perfectly to her little friend Wilbur. "These autumn days will shorten and grow cold. The leaves will shake loose from the trees and fall. Christmas will come, then the snows of winter. You will live to enjoy the beauty of the frozen world. Winter will pass, the days will lenghten, the ice will melt in the pasture pond. The song sparrow will return and sing, the frogs will awake, the warm wind will blow again. All these sights and sounds and smells will be yours to enjoy. This lovely world. These precious days."
All the sudden on top of the hill looking over the valley, enjoying the sensation of the sunlight on my cheeks, and watching my rejuvenated puppy play carelessly, I was immensely humbled. And grateful. I am grateful that all winters, how ever brutal they may be, eventually melt into beautiful, bright, colorful springs.
life is good. despite the winter blues.
