The Shortest Day

It’s the winter solstice, and sunrise here in Moose Jaw happened at 9 a.m.—tomorrow, we begin the slow crawl toward light and garden season. Two snowstorms in the past few days have kept us mostly at home and indoors. Gerry’s been out a couple of times with his birthday snowblower, and I took advantage of a break in the storms on Thursday afternoon to venture out and soak up some prairie. Other than that, we’ve spent a delicious few days by the fire with books and a jigsaw puzzle.

We’re going to head downtown to run a couple of errands in a bit. Ordinarily, you wouldn’t catch me out on the last Saturday before Christmas but needs must. A stop by our favourite burger place for a lunchtime treat will ease the sting of navigating pre-Christmas busyness. I have to remind myself, though, that busy in Moose Jaw is not the same as busy back in Kamloops. Small city = smaller crowds. Bonus.

Now that it’s officially winter, I’ve decided that this is one of my favourite seasons 🙂 . In retirement, when we can stay cozy and warm at home while storms rage outside and the temperature dips into ranges that are not fit for man nor beast to be outside, it can be a sweet, slow time.

Already an unapologetic homebody, I appreciate these quiet days of inhabiting home and feeling no pressure to go out, a furnace that keeps pumping out heat, Kindles providing an unlimited number of books at our disposal, sherpa blankets, cozy slippers, and mugs of milky coffee or tea. As always, there’s much to be thankful for.