Handling It

Hello!

Come on in.

Pour yourself a 

cup of coffee.

Pull your chair up

a little closer 

to the fire.

How has January

been treating you?

I was on my way

home, yesterday,

when the sunshine,

bouncing brilliantly

off the thick ice of

the lake, caught my

eye.

via Instagram Privetandholly

I pulled over to take

a photo with my phone,

uploading it to share

with my Instagram pals,

adding this caption:

These are popping up

all over Lake Minnetonka ~

ice fishing shacks.  Now

it really feels like winter!

That and 5 degrees F on

my dash.....

One of my IG friends,

who lives in Florida,

commented,

How do you handle that??!!

It never occurred to me

that I'd been handling

anything.

I have really come to

embrace winter.  A lovely,

fresh start.  Cozy times

inside punctuated by brisk

walks down the road, the

frosty marsh on one side

and the frozen lake on the

other.

Having spent most of

my January days ill with

flu, then stomach virus, I

am relishing the opportunity

to get outside and inhale

the piercingly cold air.

If you have never

experienced air this frigid,

it refreshes body, mind

and spirit like nothing else.

Clogged head, cough,

chills, nausea, I don't

handle very well.  But

winter in Minnesota?

Piece of cake.

Last night, while taking

Gracie out, I threw

my head back to take in

the gazillion stars overhead,

snug in my puffy coat

and Uggs....

And I thought of so

many people, out there

in this big old world,

who truly are just

handling it.

Chemo treatments

Job losses

Depression

Care taking

Military service

Deaths of loved ones

Natural disasters

Broken hearts

I bet you are sending

prayers or good thoughts

to someone who is

courageously handling it,

whatever their it is,

each and every day.

I know I am.

Makes a winter's day with

a high of -2 degrees F

seem like a walk in the

park.....

{Although even Gracie and

I aren't too keen to set out

on those days : ) }

So pour yourself another

cup of coffee.  Let's toast

to all the brave souls who

are, indeed, handling it,

each

and every

day.

I was thinking about
the word handle, and
 all the unavoidable
things that get handled.

"I'm sorry," I said.

~ Hazel, The Fault in Our Stars,
by John Green

xo

Suzanne