New Month of New Year

The year just began yet here we are in month two of that year. Winter has been warmer here in the Chicago area, but we still have had severe cold and snowy nights. Daytime gloom has been ever present like years past. That’s the ugly side of winter in the Midwest. Gloom.

With COVID sequestering, we learned to stay indoors and away from crowds. We learned to spend more hours alone. But we also learned to focus better on tasks set before us. We could separate ourselves from what was happening outdoors. And so, weather doesn’t matter as much as it once did.

Of course, shopping for necessities is hampered, but only for a day or so. If you commute, winter weather is a bad chore at best. I had a heavy commute for many years. Four hours a day – two hours in each direction – and it included 2.5 miles of walking on each end of the commute. Standing and waiting for trains was another cold reality. The train ride of 40 to 50 minutes was OK; I used it to read work files, books and news magazines. It wasn’t all lost time.

Weather made commuting terrible in bad weather. Slipping and sliding, delayed public transportation, and slogging through unshoveled public walks were the norm. those days and weeks made for a very long winter.

With February probably the coldest month of the year hereabouts, it at least heralds the ending of winter and the awareness of longer days and slightly warmer temps. With the shortest month of the year, we lean into the approaching March with its winds and changing weather fronts. Short-lived storms are soon followed by melting snows.

February gives us freedom to imagine spring. It isn’t spring, and it won’t be for many weeks yet. But it lies ahead for us to long for. And we do!

A quick glimpse out the window tells me whether to run errands during the day. If that is not to be, no worry. Focus on indoor tasks. Take naps. And relax. Better seasons are nudging us. Spring will come. it surely will.

Just keep the faith on that. And hope!

February 2, 2024

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Intimacy

As we mature, we become deeply involved in relationships. Some of this is basic family relations – siblings, parental – and the like. Next is friends who enter our homes and we theirs. Neighbors, classmates, mutual hobbyists and so forth. Then we develop friendships that go much deeper. We comfort one another when we are hurting physically or emotionally. We discuss the matters of life and learn much more about ourselves and each other. We can even anticipate how others will react to various situations and stimuli. Good friendships do not spread to everyone we know. No, good friendships are special, close and deeply personal. We focus attention and brainpower on these few friends. Some special relationships focus on specific topics of interest and importance. Yes, we have specialized friendships. Most common. But one day, we get to know one person very well. An emotional connection forms with deep roots. A need to know the person more fully expands in personal ways. We sense this b...
Read more

Bits & Pieces

Pie: Apple pie more specifically. With Thanksgiving just passed, many of us enjoyed a good apple pie. Sure, there was pumpkin to accompany the turkey, but in our family multiple pies are offered in the holidays. Apple is surely one. Pecan, pumpkin and others, too. But I almost always choose apple. When I was in college, I was asked what kind of pie did I eat most often. In front of my mom, I answered apple, because I was always looking for a pie as good as mom’s own. Of course my mother was pleased, but it was a true statement just the same. When I was married, Ann’s pie was darned good. Her mother’s recipe. But we fiddled with the recipe until it took on its own generational name, and boy, was it good! Today I still order apple pie for dessert because I am always looking for a great pie to challenge our family recipes. I rarely do find such a prize. Do others do the same? Do you search for a great pie of choice, continually? If you do, what’s your story? Why do you do this? ...
Read more

Remembering Tom Sherlock

Tom Sherlock died on Wednesday, April 3rd. He was 65 years old and did not survive a heart surgery. That was his unexpected end and sad enough. But there is more to his story. Tom joined Dan Schuyler and George Safford to create what became the Village Chronicles, a weekly newspaper serving Warrenville, Illinois. That paper expanded to serve Winfield and then West Chicago. The paper published for eight years and built a good reputation for itself. Tom served the paper in several ways. He was our information technology guru, provided hardware and software to support the paper's operations. He was our sole bookkeeper, accountant and financial manager. He designed our distribution process and provided office space for meetings and layout and typesetting. His efforts supported the work of 32 volunteers who wrote and reported on the communities we served.  The newspaper broke even financially most of the time, but it was a struggle. Tom managed to find money to keep the newspaper afloat...
Read more