Let's Make the Best of Winter!

You read the title and you're probably thinking at this point: "Yep, she's TOTALLY lost it. Completely bonkers." 

Or maaaaybe I got a healthy dose of perspective this week :)

It's also possible that I've gotten really, really sick of everyone and their mother complaining on social media about the cold, the snow, the traffic, the delays, etc. I get it. It's frustrating stuff to deal with, and I'll admit that same stuff has gotten to me every single winter. 

But not this time. I'm determined to be more positive about this winter. For starters, I absolutely love winter I just don't like what it usually brings along (a.k.a. unsafe roads and unpredictable traffic). I do not mind the cold or the snow, in fact I welcome it! I'm a four seasons kind of gal and I need to have very separate and distinct weather patterns throughout the year. 

So why did I feel the need to post this on my blog? Well, the main thing is that no matter how much we complain, how much we grumble, how much we yell at other drivers in the snow, winter is not going anywhere. I live in Pittsburgh, and if you don't already know this, it snows here. A lot. However, without fail every single year people freak out about the snow! I'm talking about kids that I've known since kindergarten and have grown up around here. IT SNOWS EVERY YEAR, GUYS.

I'm also well aware of the fact that both this year and last year have been unusually cold and harsh winters. Even for people who usually don't have that much of a winter. Again, I know that nearly everyone except me hates winter but again, it's not going anywhere. Hating winter will not make it go away. We just have to make the best of it! 

Now that we've accepted that winter is an annual thing, we can move on to the important part. 

I want to start this next part off by saying that a good friend of mine from my Bible study passed away unexpectedly last Friday. She was young, she was healthy, she was full of life, and had a passion for God that I had never seen before. She is dearly missed and her passing gave me another dose of perspective. She was not much older than me, she took care of her body by running and eating well, and everything seemed to be going right for her in life. But then a combination of unlikely circumstances, and she winds up brain-dead on life support. Her family was forced to make the kind of decision that everyone dreads. I had a hard time accepting that she was really gone when I got the news, and it didn't fully sink in until I went to the service this past week. 

I cannot even put into words the grief that I felt when I walked in there. I'm not just talking about my own but you could practically feel it radiating off everyone. I know that I haven't had a very difficult life so far, and have never truly been exposed first-hand to so much pain and grief. When I saw all her loved ones just aching with the loss, it opened my eyes and reality slapped me in the face. Often times people will ask me how I got through everything with my mom but the thing is she survived. I never had to face what her family was going through because my mom pulled through. People will say they feel sorry for me but to me there's nothing to be sorry about! She's alive and recovering, and things could have gone so much worse. 

The other thing is my grandma recently got diagnosed with adult leukemia, and there's still so much up in the air. She has to do her chemo treatment which by the grace of God she's able to do at home, but that's still not a true cure. Her doctors told us that she will at least be alive by this time next year, but after that it's unclear. We don't know how much time we have, but she's keeping her head up like the champ she is. She said so herself, if she gets another year then it's a blessing. It's been a painful reminder for the second time this week that we never know how much time we have left. Which means we better make it count, winter or not.   

So, when I want to complain about winter this year I will keep one very important fact in mind: I'm alive. I have my God, my Savior, my family, my health, a warm house, enough food, clothes on my back, a cute puppy to cuddle with, and I am loved.

I got stuck in traffic this Tuesday going to work. What should have been a 25 minute drive took an hour and 45 minutes. When I first hit all the traffic, I thought I was going to burst a blood vessel because I was so frustrated but then a little voice in my head said: "You're complaining about traffic when Erica's family is grieving over the loss of her. They would switch with you in a heartbeat. Appreciate what you have."

It was a cold, hard truth that shook me to my core, and I shut myself up after that.

It was 9 degrees yesterday when I wanted to go for my run. Not an ideal temperature but I have multiple layers of under armor. Why else would I invest money in all that cold weather gear if I'm not going to use it? I'm also healthy, able, and I have to train for my marathon. Six miles in that cold did not sound appealing but I put on two layers of leggings, two pairs of socks, one under armor, one thin pull-over, and then my Nike cold weather pull-over. I had my ear warmer and two pairs of gloves, and you know what? I had an amazing run! My first two miles, I broke under a 7 minute mile which I haven't done since my last shin injury. At first I thought the burning in my lungs was from the cold air but then I figured out I was just motoring!

Layla absolutely loves the snow, the mini polar bear that she is, and she begs for me to take her outside. Do I necessarily want to go out at 7pm when it's pitch-black and cold? Not always but she has the time of her life and she wants the exercise. I have new snow boots, a down winter jacket, and thick gloves so why not put them to use?? So I've taken to calling our nightly walks "Snoventures" to make them sound more fun! Get it? Snow + Adventure = Snoventure!

I told you I'm determined to make this winter more positive and what's better than cheesy puns?! ;)

So let's embrace winter, shall we? It's more time to live life, love others, and appreciate what we have. Each morning we wake up, snow or not, is a gift from God. Let's put it to good use, and not just try to rush through the winter as quickly as possible. Let me just add that I realize there are some places where it's so cold below freezing that it's unsafe. I'm not advocating that we ignore safety or anything like that! That, of course, is very important but we can still cut back on the complaining and grumbling. Freezing temperatures or not, there are still things to be grateful for in this life.

I also want to close this post saying that I fully realize it is indeed Friday and I have forgotten to post Friday Favorites for like weeks but I figured writing this post was a little more important!

So, I hope you all have a Happy Friday and stay safe!