Snow Grateful . . . Ponderings of a Summer Dreamer during Winter

"I am not fond of snow. Cold, wet winds neither exhilarate nor enthuse me. To praise with joy the glory of harsh winter would be -- for me-- to sing a lie. . .

And yet ...
What graceful glory, serenity of silence, as the full fat moon sends tiny beams to reflect on snowflakes resting, like bridal lace, on the arms of great trees. The absolute stillness of mid-winter's eve unites above with below in such perfect symmetry that my heart swells, and I almost cry at the deep beauty, deeper quiet, deepest Oneness of it all. Thank you. . .

"My spirit does not gleefully jump at soggy mittens, wind weepy eyes, cold ears, runny nose, almost frozen fingers and toes, icicles forming in my hair, or leaving my gloves in the car overnight." ~ Elizabeth A. Johnson from Gratitude: A Way of Life by Louise Hays & Friends
And still . . .
Happily I extend heartfelt gratefulness to: chicken soup, fuzzy slippers, woolen mittens, fluffy pajamas I can wear all day, cozy fireplaces, hot cocoa with cream, tankless hot water heaters, my dog fearlessly dodging into snow drifts, my cat purring cozily on my lap, dressing in layers, snow boots, the smiles snowflakes bring to my children's faces, the laughter that sleds and snowballs bring, the sun brightening up the sky and initiating the great thaw.

"**It is not terribly thrilling for me when parts of life are closed or cancelled like school" or dance classes, or grocery stores, Super Bowl parties, neighborhood roads, or the base hospital. And snow. Snow. Shoveling more and more SNOW. And melted snowy footprints upon which my son slips and breaks his elbow when roads and othopedic clinics are closed.
But also . . . I turn to the window and see the neighborhood children laughing and snowboarding and sledding and building igloos. I join in a snowball fight with my children and fall and giggle until my sides ache. My dog slushes through the piles intentionally as if her life-mission is to conquer the snowbanks in her path. The neighbor's lap dog runs circles around her, taunting her, teasing and prancing atop the snow. My children create snow angels. And then . . .

** I am reminded that God loves to smile!

And I smile too. Nothing to do but savor my daughter's joy at catching a snowflake on her tongue, and my sons' thrill at zooming down sled hills at break-neck speed. Freedom. Happiness. Appreciating the moments when real life slows down and we are FREE to laugh and play and just BE. . .

Wishing you all the blessings of Winter and Life as well,
Leisa

All quotes in the above post came from my reading today in Gratitude: A Way of Life ... which inspired me to expand and share my own story of gratitude here. **Quotes from Elizabeth A. Johnson

A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Can Hug

I love this photo of my daughter at play near our Summer Dream beach house at WindMark in Port St. Joe, Florida . . . It captures how I imagine her frollicking in dreamland each night.

A Magic MOMent in Dream Making. . .

We nestled down in my daughter's "flower bed" (a name my daughter sweetly coined when she first received her adored floral comforter) at dusk to partake in our nightly ritual of bedtime "dreammaking." Dreammaking weaves gratitude for today's blessings with our heart's special wishes into a blanket of dreams to comfort my daughter while she sleeps.
On this day, she was thrilled her Daddy had spent the better part of the afternoon painting her room to create a dreamy pinkaliscious retreat. We decided her room had been magically transformed into a fluffy pink cloud~ a perfect place to dream.

Each night, during dreammaking, I try to offer a little bit of wisdom and whimsy for my daughter to carry into her night. This night, the wisdom and whimsy was not mine to claim. No, it came wrapped in a five-year-old's innocent curiosity ~ a question.

Mommy, is a dream a wish? A wish that comes to you? So then you can hug it?

I nodded and said, "Yes, I believe you're right. A dream is a wish your heart can hug!"
I hugged my little dream come true, and kissed her goodnight.

Later, in my own room, I said a prayer of thanks, and carried the sweet dream my daughter had woven for me into the night.

Magic MOMents

"Every day, God gives us, as well as the sun, a moment when it is possible to change anything that is causing us unhappiness. The magic moment is the moment when a “yes” or a “no” can change our whole existence. Every day, we try to pretend that we do not see that moment, that it does not exist, that today is the same as yesterday and that tomorrow will be the same too. However, anyone who pays close attention to his day will discover the magic moment. It might be hidden in the instant that we put the key in the door in the morning, in the moment of silence after supper, in the thousand and one things that appear to us to be the same. This moment exists, a moment in which all the strength of the stars flows through us and allows us to perform miracles." - Paulo Coelho

There are so many magic moments to discover in Motherhood. I call them MOMents -- the MOMents every mother lives for. . . MOMents that melt our hearts, take our breath away, and warm our souls. . . magic MOMents spent with those little people who mean so much to us. . .

My magic MOMent shown here happened on a day this summer when our weekly preschool nature program was cancelled unexpectedly. We were so excited to show up at the park that day to learn about "Butterflies." When we realized upon arrival the park ranger could not meet with us because of a family emergency, my daughter and I set out to discover Butterflies on our own. Wouldn't you know -- there was not a single butterfly in sight!

Instead, we discovered a beach at the park we had never seen. We met a fisherman who let us peek in his bucket to see his daily catch. We were startled by a stingray (called Skates up here on the Chesapeake, according to our friendly fisherman) jumping along the surface of the water. (My daughter now giggles every time she sees a skate.) We skipped along the beach, wrote in the sand, and stopped for a rest on the most peaceful bridge we could find.

I love how sometimes our favorite memories are the ones created when our plans fall through, when life presents us with a detour that leads to beautiful journey of discovery. . . A magic MOMent indeed.