"Getting rid of everything that doesn’t matter allows you to remember who you are. Simplicity doesn’t change who you are, it brings you back to who you are."

Friday, January 17, 2014

Brillo Pad

There's a lot to be said for getting up in the wee hours of the morning and wandering your neighborhood in the dark. 

Visually, it's a world of black and white.  The full moon acting like a giant flashlight.  I look up and see steam rising from rooftop ventilation and tree branches look like giant eyelashes as I look up at the sky.





The dogs are all about sniffing, clustered at their periodic "mailboxes" collecting and leaving messages as we hike our mile.  I wonder how many dogs have dropped a note.

Later, after I've tucked the pup's back in the house, I head back out for my real exercise.  As I'm stomping along, I hear a high pitched yip and howl off in the distance. 

Coyotes.  Clear as a bell, but not too close.  A few miles off for sure.

After a minute, things get quiet again and the only thing I hear is the sound of my breathing.

Clear.
Quiet.
Crisp.

While winter is not my favorite time of the year, I can appreciate it's severity.  It's a cleansing sort of cold.  Stinging and abrasive but necessary.  The Brillo pad of the seasons, if you will.

Scrubbing everything fresh and clean.

When I step into the house and feel the soft, humid warmth of the air on my numb cheeks, I tell myself I can't wait until Spring.

Yes, I can. 

And I'll appreciate it that much more for the cleansing winter.

3 comments:

  1. I would enjoy winter if I didn't have to feed hay to the animals, very little grass left here as the winter started so early. I know what you are saying, winter does clean and kind of pushes the restart button.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Actually a very lovely post. (And you have a very spunky spirit. But we all knew that, didn't we?) We have cleansing winters here in northern Minnesota, too. Wanna come try it out? Hee-hee.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Be careful of speeding cars in the dark!

    I went out for a walk yesterday. I should have put long underwear on under my jeans - they are just cotton pants you know. Fastest walk around the block that I've done in a while. That wind!!!

    ReplyDelete