Snow Drifts

Anyone who's ever talked to me or met me or seen me knows that I tend towards the darker, the non-traditional. So it's no surprise that, while I love sun and surf and sand (Key West is still the dream), my favorite season is winter.

I love the sparkling snow crystals, the perpetual nip in the air, the nagging desire to be warm and cozy inside while the wind gusts harshly outside. 

I think a lot of people are discouraged by the desolation of winter: it's a time of darkness, of death, of stillness. It can, like anything, be ugly...dirty...difficult, reveling in the isolation it brings.

But sometimes there's beauty in the stillness, in the seclusion. Would the brilliant red flowers be so bold, so pronounced, without the dreary backdrop?

And even when the colors don't pop across your eyes, isn't there something to be said for a sky drawn in pastels rather than the boldest markers?

Flushed cheeks are a sign of some of life's greatest joys: laughter, satisfaction (of various types), health, warmth...and it can be conjured by a simple evening stroll with the biting winter wind as an accompanist.

I look forward to the promise of new beginnings in spring, but until then, I'll enjoy the hidden warmth that winter brings to tide us over until the last snows melt. 

Stay warm, loves.