Winding Down

 January is beginning to wind down, and I'm enjoying the idea of "winding down." I'm also hopeful that February will be very, very "wound down."

I am reading a lot right now.  With no yard work to do and very little housework to accomplish (just the normal rounds of laundry, tidying, and dishes), spending time in books has been a real treat this month.  I'm also taking up my knitting needles again for the first time in a long time, and I foresee some cozy February afternoons of knitting while listening to Audible books! I hope so, anyhow!

Because this month threw a couple of curveballs.  

First, I began to be very tired and have a strange sinus-y feeling (not even sneezing, but just a strange smell/feeling).  This happened just a few days before my father was supposed to come stay with us.  I felt tired enough to schedule a covid test, and I tested negative.  Even so, we were reluctant to be in the same house together, so plans had to change for his visit.  (I'm fine now, although still fatigued.) So I spent a fair amount of time resting.  No one in my family got sick, and I never had anything more than fatigue and the mild sinus change, so all's well, but it did change my plans in a way that was unanticipated and did not please me.

Second, we had an unexpected death in the family that hit me harder than I initially thought it would when I first heard the news.  My father and I attended the funeral together yesterday.  I won't go into the complex history of my family of origin; I'll just say that the person who died was someone we loved, and someone who was an important part of my formative years, although I hadn't seen her in around 20 years.  I was surprised at my emotional exhaustion, and have decided to spend the next 3-4 days taking it very easy and gently on myself as a result.  Hot baths, good books, tea, cold walks outside, sleep.  Therapeutic things. :)

And speaking of therapeutic things, here's what I woke to this morning!

{the view up to the house that used to be my grandparents', but now belongs to my aunt and uncle}

The children and I kicked off of school early and went out to traipse around.  It was good medicine for my soul.  Lots of wind blowing snow, lots of joyful chasing after the little snow tornados.  The farm is beautiful in the snow.  I love being outdoors in God's creation.  It always settles and soothes me.  

I am grateful for the flexibility in our lives to do that, and then come inside and make hot cocoa...and now my children are watching a movie!  Why not?  It's a snow day. :) 

{looking north-east over the valley}

{just behind the house}

All those photos are taken from our back deck, which is just off of the dining area where I sit and drink coffee in the morning.  Just beautiful. 

So I'll be taking the next few days not worrying about productivity (it's overrated anyhow, I suspect!) and instead I'll just be unapologetically kind and gentle to myself. The older I get, the more I see the value in that!