However, (and this is Reason #1), my sister was able, at very short notice, to fly out to California (thanks to the generous gift of a family member), and we have great hopes that she will be able to help my dad make some tough choices that he's been avoiding for too long. I'm so grateful she could go. I'm also happy that our employer has been extremely understanding and supportive, telling us both to take whatever time we need, whenever we need it, for our parents. We're very lucky to work for, and with, such a compassionate group of people.
#2: This is outside...
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| (Fahrenheit. It's even worse in Celsius.) |
...but we are inside, safe and warm. A heated house makes me feel very cheerful in January.
Reason #3: Even in the dead of winter, I can still look out the window in the morning and see these signs of life...
...in the very top of the Very Tall Tree next door. (I can't quite figure out what sort of birds those are - they don't look big enough to be the neighbourhood crows.)
How do the birds and the squirrel do it? Are they just better-insulated than I, or is it something to do with their metabolism? (It's hard to believe anyone could be better-insulated than I am in the weeks after Christmas, but despite the extra layers of blubber you won't find me climbing trees when it's -8º out.)
Somehow those perching birds, and the squirrel hopping blithely from branch to branch in the extreme cold of a January morning, add to my sum of happiness. The cold hasn't beat them - they'll hang on and keep moving until spring brings warmth to the air. A very good example to follow.
For more January cheer, head over to Planet Penny, where you can leave a happy comment or link up a gladsome post of your own. Here's to warmth within and without.
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