By now, all the gifts should be got, all the halls should be decked, and it's time to gather to celebrate this highest of holidays, Christmas. Our Christmas is most definitely white this year, which hasn't happened around here since I was a very little girl. We typically have snow for Valentine's Day, not Christmas, so in a way this is a real treat. In another way, it brings a little foreboding because along with the snow usually comes the ice, broken water lines, and power outages. That means before we can sit back and enjoy the snow, we have to prepare.
As I sit here watching the snow falling, I am reminded of how my mother used every snow day as an excuse for a full-on floor boards to ceiling scouring of our house. We all had to help and I never understood why. It seemed to me if we were going to be trapped indoors for days on end with nothing else to do, that was the perfect time to clean. My mom was of the opinion that if all the chores were done, we could enjoy the snow in comfort or perhaps be freed up for other chores, like melting snow if the water lines busted or cooking hot dogs over an open fire in our rickety fort if the electricity went out. Those sorts of things sound like fun, but took all day for very little pay off. I always half-assumed that the possible impending doom was just an excuse to force us to do chores instead of playing in the snow, but as an adult, I find myself repeating those same words with just as much emphasis as mom said to us every time it snowed, "Let's hurry and clean up before it snows!"
This morning, I looked around and thought things looked good enough. I sat down and tried to do some work, but by 8:00 a.m. as the snow began falling, I knew it was no good. I had to get up and clean. Whether I've just been trained or it's an instinct, I'll never know, but I had a burst of energy that I rarely experience in mid-life that allowed me to do a day's worth of chores in only a few hours.
I am writing this post from the comfort of my armchair next to the fire. School has let out for the holiday break and work has been canceled for the storm. I've spent the morning giving the house a thorough cleaning, mom would be proud, and have vegetable stew in the crockpot, a fresh loaf bread and chocolate chip cookies cooling next to the oven. The animals' houses have all been loaded with extra bedding on the inside, and insulated on the outside to keep out this below freezing north wind. We never know if these storms will pass quietly or if they will bring mayhem, but at least this one area of our lives is peaceful and orderly, and maybe that's what mom knew all those years ago. It's easier to weather the chaos of the storms outside when inside is tidy and calm. So, where ever you are, in whatever weather, I wish you a peaceful and bright Christmas surrounded by as much love and joy as possible making memories that will warm your heart even on the coldest days.
