ITS A WINTER WONDERLAND

Well, we have had quite the last week and a half. The cold season has hit our home full force, and after not having had too many illnesses since we moved to Yarmouth, I guess we needed to make up for lost time. Definitely not a great time of the year to be sick, when you are trying to get Christmas shopping done, and Christmas concerts, rehearsals and dress rehearsals. But we are pushing through, and I think I may be seeing a light at the end of the tunnel.

It is now only 13 days until Christmas and this morning sure looks the part. It snowed through the night and upon awakening we were greeted with fresh powdery snow. It's -5 which to me is the perfect temperature, and no wind. Glorious. I am taking this opportunity to immerse myself in the magic of winter and the season and revel in my day off. Today it is everything winter, everything Christmas, and I will even forgive myself for the laundry I forgot on the line last night.

This past little while I have been so wrapped up in being the perfect working Mom, I have forgotten what is really important. And as I sit by the fire this morning, I am reminding myself of all the things in my life that mean the most to me. My husband, my kids, my Mom and Dad, sister and brothers back home, my 2 awesome dogs and the wonderful life that surrounds me. It's not about being a perfect Mom, its about being a happy one, with peace and balance. I have been doing so much thinking lately about what makes me joyful and fills me with contentment and gratitude. I have also been working through who is important in my life, who makes me feel the ways I want to feel, and who doesn't. Who I should continue to allow to work in my life and who doesn't bring me the pleasure and joy that my life should be. Sometimes its a sobering reality when you realize and admit to one self that certain relationships have been completely one sided, and when you stop engaging with someone by always making contact, those people you thought were so important in your life really aren't because you weren't important to them. It's taken me a great many years to come to some of these conclusions, but even though its hard, its also very enlightening. It is starting to free me of certain feelings that I didn't even know I had. I think it's always important in life to keep on learning about ourselves. Read in to our own thoughts and feelings and reach deep for what really matters most. My transition from Stay at Home mom to working Mom has been very difficult. But it has also brought me a new awareness of the little moments and little things that I used to take for granted.

So without further adieu I shall don my snow boots, put on my toque and pull up my snow pants, for its off in to my woods I go. With the towering trees, their branches bending with snow, the hush of the land, silenced by a blanket of white, this is where I find my inner peace. The crunch of snow and a warm fire to come home to, there is no greater joy.