January In Minnesota

Why do I love this state? Because I do. I cannot think of anywhere on the Earth I would rather live. Except for maybe the West coast of the Big Island of Hawaii for January and at least half of February every year.

My mailbox is almost buried in the snow, and has been since mid-November. We have had colds, (all four of us), strep (various strains), and now God only knows what crud we are fighting off even though we continue downing airborne and vitamin D.

I am sitting in my office freezing my ass off. It is -9 and the low tonight is -13. This is better than last nights low of -20, but who's complaining.

Still, the irony is...I love this. Some of the best moments of my life have unfolded in subzero temperatures.

Today my father and I took our dogs for a walk in the woods. We really didn't say much, and it was perhaps -2, but it was a time I will never forget. The beauty of the dogs, enjoying the snow. They were running across the ice as if in paradise. The shining snow, shimmering among the branches that the dogs picked off the low brush to chew on. My father, shining in all his glory, just walking, and loving his dogs....and me.

I remember when my now husband and I had one of our first apartments together, I believe it was our second. It was tiny. His 6'1" frame hit the ceiling from time to time, but he didn't care, because he was with me. It must have been the last week of January 1993 and it was something like -34 that night without the wind chill factor. We hunkered down on the futon under a huge comforter and told jokes about how we would die if we went outside. We kept each other warm and watched "Star Wars The Next Generation" together. Ice built up on the window panes of the old house we lived in, but we kept each other warm. I will never forget that night.

My neighbor cheers me on every time I go out to shovel even one inch of snow. "Way to go Bridget!", he says. He is a Vietnam Vet who apparently has realized that every moment of life is a good one. I feel so blessed to have him cheering me on.

Even the dark nights of the soul one experiences in these months have a purpose. They make the Spring so brilliant! The Self-exploration and surrender one must endure to stay sane during these months is a blessing in disguise.

So, raise your glass to January in Minnesota tonight, and make a memory of your own.

Remember, the light has no meaning without the darkness, and if you can see the light in the darkest days, you have indeed found salvation.