Slow Rolling

It snowed here, people.

It snowed for real.

Like, 12 inches in 8 hours, real snow that stuck and stayed and was cold.

And the weirdest part for me?  No one cared.  It wasn't talked about on the radio, nothing was cancelled, few people commented on it past a "Still coming down out there?" "Yep."

It felt so bizarre.  I didn't expect the world to shut down the way it does in the sweet south, where the main methods of snow removal are sunshine and sweet tea.  But still, it was a legitimate amount of snow, and no one cared.  

We enjoyed it some later in the evening.  And I do mean that in the "royal we" sense, where I enjoyed it and pretty much no one else did.  Apparently Handsome doesn't love shoveling 3x a day, and RG isn't a fan of acting out scenes from The Christmas Story (picture the "I can't put my arms down!" kid... that was her).  But whatever.

Since then, the days have been cold and there's always the threat of more snow.  I get a little claustrophobic when I think about the fact that our snowy situation isn't a temporary state, but will stay for 4-5 months.  Makes it hard to breath.  So instead I focus on the beauty that it brings TODAY, and the fact that it coincides nicely with my new craving of crushed ice.  (Thank you, Lord, but I didn't need *that* much... )

We're headed into holiday territory, which for us is resulting in a frustratingly large number of 250 mile round trips, lots of food and family and hunting for more chairs, and hopefully a good measure of peace.  I have 6 1/2 days of teaching left this semester, and its hard to believe that the whirlwind of the first phase of my first job will be over soon.  I'm sinking into these days, taking them slow and deliberately, trying to make the best choices at each juncture.  Trying to rest when there is rest to be found, work when there is work to do, etc.  

Its an interesting place to be, when I'm not straining forward to see what the next step is.  We haven't been here much in the past 6 years.  There's not a "When _____ happens, everything will change again, and so we don't know until then..." looming on the horizon.  Yes, baby #2 will be here in about 10 weeks, but we'll still be in the same place, still be the same family, most of it will stay the same (although I am told that everything will also change, but we're talking different scales here, people).

I'm desiring very much to take this slow approach as we get into Thanksgiving and Christmas and the new year.  Shrugging off the inconsequential, the less-than-pivotal things, and focusing whole attention on the pieces that matter, even if they seem "small".  Like snowy mornings and mugs of hot chocolate, full to the brim of gratefulness and contentment!

<3 M.