Winter is here!

Now, back East and Mid-West U.S. where I used to live, snow was no excuse to take the day off from work and stay home... not unless it was a terrible ice storm downing power lines and the crew unable to work fast enough to make things reasonably operable.

In the Pacific Northwest that I call home for over half dozen years now, snow is not an accepted way of life to be taken in stride while going about one's daily business - at least not in the Willamette Valley. And for the last almost 10 days, we've had quite a bit of snowfall, forcing people to stay indoors unless they absolutely have to step out for whatever reason...

Staying cozily indoors, I love gazing at Nature's artistry - the clumps of snow on the gray-brown branches, snow-tinged tall evergreens, tiny juncos and sparrows pecking at the bird food we managed to put out, even several inches of snow accumulated on the parked cars... images of my backyard and frontyard fill me with wonder and awe even at this jaded middle-age...

I feel a bit sad for the shop-keepers, the salespeople have to show up somehow and try to make a living... I didn't get to do much Xmas shopping this year as we decided to get presents only for the kids, and D helped out by buying just age+1 presents for each of the kids (counting Oggie's age as 1, even though he is not yet 1, of course).

D tried to take the bus to get some supplies as we were caught quite unprepared and didn't have chains ready for the cars... however, just thinking about the less-fortunate people struggling to stay warm this winter, let alone get enough nutrition, makes me shudder and send a silent prayer heavenwards...

Ana's school teacher taught her this beautiful song that she sings several times a day while carrying on with her activities, sometimes improvising on the tune and adding her own lyrics. It is set to the Frère Jacques tune (or, Are You Sleeping, as the kids know it here):





I am thankful
I am thankful
For these things
For these things
Breakfast, lunch and dinner
A nice warm place in winter
And songs to sing
And songs to sing

I can't thank her teacher enough for teaching her the song, and the meaning - what little a 3-year-old mind can comprehend, that is...