Posted by It is April, and we have a bit of an autumn chill in the air. A LOT of an autumn chill. We are getting snow this afternoon. I have already transferred my brain to spring, so it feels like fall because I must have missed summer altogether?!
I dribbled little radish, bok choi and beet seeds in my garden yesterday before the weather change… Today, my fingers are in pain after I took the dog on a walk; it was so cold. 24 degrees with gloves at 7 am.
But then I remember that April and early May is Winter Part 2, when it is so tricky and cold that we get cranky, thinking summer will never get here. Oh if only we could evolve, grow wings, and become a real snowbird!
Of course in Colorado on May 15th, the thermometer breaks wide open and we have 85 degree weather for the next six weeks straight, building up to 95 degrees for a lot of July and August, peaking up to 100 for at least a week. Wildfires start, and Hell breaks loose. ALL Hell breaks loose, not just some. We crave ice, cold, popsicles. Brain freezes from eating ice cream too fast is a minor momentary annoyance compared to sweaty legs sticking to the home office chair when we go to stand up for a cool drink. The sun beating ruthlessly in the afternoon on our western facing back patio and the lack of sleep with too much daylight are real problems!
Ach, the scourges of summer that I am craving tonight in flannels by the fire…
If I could only trust in the seasons, the turn, turn, turn, of the globe that brings change every day, every season, every year. Our world keeps on moving on from where we are at this moment.
Babies are born, grandparents are aging, cancers are growing, wheels are turning, hair is growing (eyebrows, mustaches, gray roots). Our world keeps on moving away from where we are at this moment towards the next and the next, and the next. Just because we have a pandemic does not mean life stopped. Just because someone is sick does not mean life stops. We are always moving through life’s phases. And we are in a phase now- of chilly weather, of waiting for 2nd vaccines, of waiting for herd immunity, or waiting for whatever we are waiting for. But life keeps moving on, even if we are personally in waiting mode.
We need to figure out how to keep ourselves growing in our present phase:
- Nurture the relationships and friendships we value if we want them to be here after we emerge.
- Take care of our neighbor. He is getting older.
- Help our kids grow and learn more every day without resentment or entitlement.
- Keep mending the broken sink that insists on leaking despite multiple new hose connections, plumber’s tape. Fix the curtain hanger that is falling off the wall, and the shade clippy-thing that broke, and, and, and.
- Keep looking in on our love relationships.
Keep being brave, in other words. Keep standing up to make a positive impact in the face of all the changes for the relentless virus and sickness. Keep on keeping on. You are brave. You are strong. And you CAN do this! Look at what you already did!
You got this! We will get there.
3-Legged Table: Reframing Our Beautiful Chaos 