Winter thoughts

Winter has arrived with a vengeance this last week. The temperatures plummeted to 10 degrees overnight with the days barely rising over 28 to 30 something. It is strange to be experiencing the bright shocking cold again. It is a time that can't help but remind me of last year... and those final moments and days leading up to my mother's death. It is almost (in january) going to be
the first year since her passing, and still it feels like only a few months or even weeks have spanned the time since that moment and this one. (Even though so much has happened in the meantime) My father and I found ourselves on our first 'Thanksgiving' without her. All those small traditions we cherish and depend on every year, keeping us grounded and secure on the path we think our lives are following... dissipate and vanish like tracks blown away in the wind. That person that we shared a long memory with,
those experiences - experienced together... That person that knew me as no other... is gone.
So we did our best to step out into new ventures since the world keeps turning and the universe keeps expanding and well, it ain't all waitin' on us.
She would have loved it, the Thanksgiving dinner at Julies' place in Madrid, with a nearly forty pound bird! Neighbors from the windy mesa,Scott and Marsha were there along with other townfolk and even a couple from Santa Cruz,CA. Julie and her husband open up their home and
kitchen every year to a few friends and anyone else that wants to join along. We all brought some edible concoctions to contribute and everyone got to enjoy a grand meal together.
Mine- was an eggplant,lentil pate that went over surprisingly well.
My father and I also hit the trail for a guided group hike at the Cerrillos hills. It was a bit more than he had bargained for with it's quick pace but we enjoyed meeting some other folks and
seeing the sights in the park.
Some days, it is just good to stay inside though and convince myself that winter and things as they are- can maybe be alright. At least the cold gives me a reason to crochet obsessively.
--- Keep shining