Winter Solstice in the Winter of my Life

Today is the Winter Solstice in the northern hemisphere, the shortest and darkest day of the year. After today the sun will shine brighter, its rays will grow stronger and it will be visible in the sky longer and longer. Yet as winter inches on, each day will grow colder (my joints achier) and the snow deeper (I hope).

I do love the winter, especially really cold, snowy ones. I love when our little lake freezes thick enough to walk across (although I now fear falling on the ice). And when the snow is deep enough to snowshoe through back woods and stream corridors and I am awed at all the little creature tracks and trails (although my old age aches and pains now limit how far I can go).

I love when the air is so cold that the sky turns the deepest blue (although my fingers and toes now turn numb) and the snow magically sparkles as it flutters down to earth. I love the joy when the night air is so crisp and clear that the stars are extraordinary bright and I can see all the way to the Milky Way (although my eyesight isn’t what it used to be).

With each passing year, winter still holds more magical delights than achy discomforts for me. I hope it will always be so.

I wish for everyone bundles of wonder and joy (and pain free joints) in this, the most enchanting of seasons.

Happy Solstice!