The Cold, the Wind, and the Spirit

The main reason that I never thought we would move back to Fort Wayne is the cold. 

When I was twenty-two I worked part time in a toy shop located in drafty, cold old school. My fingers began to turn purple, swell up, and develop open sores. My mom and I went to a dermatologist who scared me by taking pictures of my fingers and naming the diseases that I probably had--scleroderma or lupus. I had neither, just Raynaud's disease, which is sometimes a symptom of these more serious conditions, but in my case it just means that I need to watch my exposure to cold.

In Raynaud's disease the blood vessels spasm, then close, blocking blood flow. There's a medicine that I have on hand if I need it. I haven't taken it in decades, but it's in my kitchen cabinet now, just in case. As I remember, it turns me very pink as it does its job of opening all of my blood vessels.

Growing up, I never enjoyed the cold, and this condition gave me another reason to see it as my enemy.

Months ago, I read about French peasants in the mountains, generations ago, moving as little as possible and mostly staying in bed all winter. It sounded good to me, but not very practical.

So, I've been embracing the season instead of hiding from it this year. I've gone for walks in the snow.

 Looking for beauty, and finding it.

After a snowfall, I pop outside and take pictures. Sometimes, our yard looks like Narnia.

And there's Pepper, of course. She loves the snow. Her enthusiasm is contagious.

I've gone cross-country skiing. I fall on the slightest of inclines, but I don't mind falling and looking silly.

And I've run in it. A lot. When I run, I'm warm. 

Sometimes my hands are so warm that they get hot and I take off my gloves to cool them down.

Today, it's cold. The thermometer read minus seventeen fahrenheit this morning. I've listened to the wind these last two nights, in bed. It's too cold to take pictures, or play with the dog outside. 

A friend said to me yesterday that Spring will be all the sweeter this year. It's true. I will bask in it and barbecue and rake and plant.

And as I reflect on the wind and wonder how to embrace these days too, I've thought of the wind in scripture--Jesus' words to Nicodemus, who came to him in the night, about the Spirit coming like the wind, blowing where it wishes. And I've thought of the one hundred twenty gathered when they heard the sound of a mighty wind and the Holy Spirit fell on them and the church began. 

So, on these cold, windy days, I pray for my city of Fort Wayne. The city I've returned to even though I thought I had left it for good. I pray for peace and justice because I know that where the God reigns, there is healing and wholeness, justice and mercy. And my city needs these things.

Weather Report--Balmy for the Run

At the beginning of October, I started running with a local group. Going into it, I wasn't sure  if I would be a part of the Walk/Run Group or the Running, But Very Slowly Group, but after running a mile the first night without dying, I claimed a spot in the R,BVS group (They don't actually call us that, but we all know that's what we are.)

We've been training for the Gingerbread Pursuit four mile race which will take place this Saturday.  Justin and I ran four miles on Thanksgiving morning at the Galloping Gobbler, so I know I can do this one.

Are everyone else's kids way cooler than they are without even trying?  Maybe if I practice a blank teenager stare and raise an eyebrow sardonically?

The problem with training this time of year is that it's cold outside. I've learned when I need to layer pants, how long I have to run to feel warm, and at what point my face won't feel warm no matter how long I run. All helpful things to know.

Here's the weather report for this week...

I had to look up what Sunday and Monday's weather symbols meant--mass flooding? It's fog.

I saw this and was happy. Saturday will be positively balmy! A high of above freezing for the day may mean high twenties in the morning, which would mean that though I need a double bottom layer, my face won't be frozen during the run. Or it may still be 18 when we run at 8:30, which will be, um, painfully cold and may call for a third bottom layer.

The snow shouldn't pose a problem since the my path will be cleared by all the speedy runners ahead of me. 

So I can now add running to my very short list of things that I'm willing to do when it's in the twenties outside--get the mail, walk from my car to the store, shovel snow, and um.. that's about it. I'll slowly make peace with midwestern winters, one activity at a time.

Keeping Warm

It's been unseasonably cold the last couple days (a low of 22 this morning), and Anna and I have been making fires daily for about a week now. This has always been Scott's thing, but he was recovering from minor surgery last week and then was out of town for a couple days. And I have learned that I really enjoy tending a fire. This first picture is from a day last week when Anna was home from school with a cold. I had cut off access to screens for the day, so she sewed a dress for her stuffed kitten and took a picture of it. Our fire is blazing in the background. 

Out of all of Anna's stuffed animals, Pepper is most excited when she nabs this one.

We had light snow yesterday morning. I'm glad it's supposed to warm up this weekend as there's still a lot of leaf blowing that needs to happen.

Our wintry yard.

This last picture is our family water bottle. One of our team members, Gwen, left it for us at the end of her year in Nice. Team members sometimes left things that they couldn't fit in their suitcases, and this is my very favorite left behind item. I had never used a hot water bottle before, but quickly warmed to it. ( :

Last year, Anna claimed it as her own. Heating the water and filling it up became a part of our nightly routine. I came across it a couple weeks ago in Scott's bathroom cupboard and have been using it at night to keep my feet warm. I appreciate that it's warm, but doesn't have claws, meow,  or move as the other similarly-sized warm object in the house does.

Thank you, Gwen!

The problem is that Anna noticed the resurfacing of the hot water bottle, and then two days ago, Justin saw it and put dibs on it (a family thing with things that are in short supply...in Nice, the kids would call dibs on the bathroom when we were on the way home since there was just one. Once, after we moved here, Anna called dibs on the bathroom, and when I pointed out that we have enough bathrooms to go around, she called dibs on the dog. Smart girl). 

So, I just ordered two water bottles with soft-looking covers that should arrive soon. It's the flannel cover that makes ours so nice, so am hoping the new ones are as soft. I thought about saving them as fun Christmas presents, but I don't want to share for a month and a half.

Today, I started some organizing of a basement storage area that we never really got in order when we moved. So, I started a fire in the downstairs fireplace. There's a cozy area in the basement with a large picture window next to the fireplace that I thought would be a great place to sit and read. But, we rarely used it this year. Today's discovery is that this fireplace is the best one in the house. It's much wider than the two upstairs, so it actually does some heating, and it's easy to sit by it and put my feet up to warm them (a constant theme, I know...).

The nice thing about three fireplaces is that if Scott, Anna, and I each want our own fires, we could. Though I would totally call dibs on the basement one.

Btw, Justin shows little interest in pyromania, though he quickly pulled up a chair and put up his feet by this one when he got home from school.

Cat + Cold = Laziness

I am writing this propped on our couch, with our Christmas throw, Arwen, and the computer perched on my lap. Arwen does little but sleep on laps these days. And if I'm up and around while the kids are at school, she will meow accusingly at me--not constantly, but the meaning is clear, "Please sit down until another lap comes home."

Unfortunately, with this posting, I will have run out of any possibly useful things to do on this computer, so it's time to abandon the cat and the Christmas throw and get on with life.